David Kennedy
Assistant Professor of Biology

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W229B Millennium Science Complex
University Park, PA - dak30@psu.edu
- 814-863-5461
Research Summary
Ecology and evolution of infectious diseases, with particular interest in how disease dynamics influence pathogen emergence, virulence evolution, and drug or vaccine resistance.
Huck Graduate Students
Huck Affiliations
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
- Center for Mathematical Biology
- Ecology
- Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences
Links
Publication Tags
Vaccines Pathogens Poultry Drug Resistance Clinical Trials Resistance Viruses Virulence Principal Component Analysis Aquaculture Pathogen Farms Pharmaceutical Preparations Vaccination Economics Efficacy Genetic Drift Industry Markov Chain Monte Carlo Parallel Computing Marek Disease Immune System Mardivirus Influenza A Virus PopulationMost Recent Papers
The economics of managing evolution
Troy Day, David A. Kennedy, Andrew F. Read, David McAdams, 2021, PLoS Biology
What the reproductive number R<sub>0</sub> can and cannot tell us about COVID-19 dynamics
Clara L. Shaw, David A. Kennedy, 2021, Theoretical Population Biology on p. 2-9
What you need to know about the new COVID-19 variants
David Kennedy, 2021,
Detection, not mortality, constrains the evolution of virulence
David Kennedy, 2021, bioRxiv
The evolutionary epidemiology of pathogens during vaccination campaigns
Troy Day, David Kennedy, A Read, Sylvain Gandon, 2021, arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.13680
Developing an empirical model for spillover and emergence: Orsay virus host range in Caenorhabditis
Clara Shaw, David Kennedy, 2021, bioRxiv
Exceptions to the rule: Why does resistance evolution not undermine antibiotic therapy in all bacterial infections?
Amrita Bhattacharya, Anton Aluquin, David Kennedy, 2021, bioRxiv
Why it matters that the coronavirus is changing -- and what this means for vaccine effectiveness
David Kennedy, 2020,
Virus evolution could undermine a COVID-19 vaccine -- but this can be stopped
A Read, David Kennedy, 2020,
Monitor for COVID-19 vaccine resistance evolution during clinical trials
David A. Kennedy, Andrew F. Read, David A. Kennedy, 2020, PLoS Biology
Most-Cited Papers
Imperfect vaccination can enhance the transmission of highly virulent pathogens
Andrew F. Read, Susan J. Baigent, Claire Powers, Lydia B. Kgosana, Luke Blackwell, Lorraine P. Smith, David A. Kennedy, Stephen W. Walkden-Brown, Venugopal K. Nair, 2015, PLoS Biology on p. e1002198
Why does drug resistance readily evolve but vaccine resistance does not?
David A. Kennedy, Andrew F. Read, 2017, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Potential drivers of virulence evolution in aquaculture
David A. Kennedy, Gael Kurath, Ilana L. Brito, Maureen K. Purcell, Andrew F. Read, James R. Winton, Andrew R. Wargo, 2016, Evolutionary Applications on p. 344-354
Why the evolution of vaccine resistance is less of a concern than the evolution of drug resistance
David A. Kennedy, Andrew F. Read, 2018, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 12878-12886
Monitor for COVID-19 vaccine resistance evolution during clinical trials
David A. Kennedy, Andrew F. Read, David A. Kennedy, 2020, PLoS Biology
Industry-wide surveillance of Marek’s disease virus on commercial poultry farms.
David A. Kennedy, Christopher Cairns, Matthew J. Jones, Andrew S. Bell, Rahel M. Salathé, Susan J. Baigent, Venugopal K. Nair, Patricia A. Dunn, Andrew F. Read, 2017, Avian Diseases on p. 153-164
Using quantitative disease dynamics as a tool for guiding response to avian influenza in poultry in the United States of America
K. M. Pepin, E. Spackman, J. D. Brown, K. L. Pabilonia, L. P. Garber, J. T. Weaver, D. A. Kennedy, K. A. Patyk, K. P. Huyvaert, R. S. Miller, A. B. Franklin, K. Pedersen, T. L. Bogich, P. Rohani, S. A. Shriner, C. T. Webb, S. Riley, 2014, Preventive Veterinary Medicine on p. 376-397
Pathogen growth in insect hosts
David A. Kennedy, Vanja Dukic, Greg Dwyer, 2014, American Naturalist on p. 407-423
Effects of multiple sources of genetic drift on pathogen variation within hosts
David A. Kennedy, Greg Dwyer, 2018, PLoS Biology
Combining principal component analysis with parameter line-searches to improve the efficacy of Metropolis–Hastings MCMC
David A. Kennedy, Vanja Dukic, Greg Dwyer, 2015, Environmental and Ecological Statistics on p. 247-274
News Articles Featuring David Kennedy
Nov 29, 2021
Vaccine Makers Already Testing Their Shots Against Omicron Variant
As concerns about the new Omicron variant grow, vaccine makers say they're already working on ways to protect people against the potential new threat.
Full Article
Nov 26, 2021
Will Covid variant omicron need a new vaccine? Time and data will tell
The discovery of another coronavirus variant has raised new concerns about the ability of existing vaccines to protect against the mutating virus — and whether they’ll need to be updated.
Full Article
Nov 16, 2021
New tool weighs costs and benefits of managing evolution of pathogens and pests
Spend money now on antibiotic stewardship practices or save the money but run the risk of potentially deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria emerging later? A new economic tool can help physicians, farmers and other people whose activities may influence the evolution of biological organisms, such as pathogens and insects, decide when they should invest in evolution management strategies.
Full Article
Apr 28, 2021
Are the vaccines effective against mutant Covid variants?
India is undergoing a massive vaccination effort in the midst of a devastating rise in reported daily cases and deaths. While the main cause of the rise in cases is yet to be determined, epidemiological and virological data point to the rise of new variants of concern being a major contributing factor.
Full Article
Mar 17, 2021
How Much Should We Really Worry About the Coronavirus Variants?
Even as things look promising for summer, the coronavirus is still finding new ways to threaten our creep back to normal and our general sense of health and safety.
Full Article
Jan 15, 2021
How devastating could Brazil's 'super-covid' be? Study finds coronavirus overwhelmed the country, killing nearly 40% of hospitalized patients as fears grow its variant could ALREADY be in America
Nearly 40 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Brazil died of the virus as the nation's health care system was inundated with coronavirus cases last year, a new study estimates.
Full Article
Dec 22, 2020
Why it matters that the coronavirus is changing — and what this means for vaccine effectiveness (Philadelphia Inquirer)
If this new version of the virus is here to stay, as it appears to be, what does that mean? Will this new version of the virus replace the old one? Will it be easier to catch? And, most important, will the current vaccines still be effective?
Full Article
Dec 22, 2020
Why it matters that the coronavirus is changing — and what this means for vaccine effectiveness (The Conversation)
A new variant of SARS-CoV-2 is spreading rapidly in the United Kingdom, with over 1,400 cases since September. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, generally accumulates mutations slowly over time, but this new variant had accumulated many mutations quickly.
Full Article
Dec 14, 2020
What happens if you skip the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine?
As Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine begins circulating, there is another big logistical challenge ahead: reminding people to get the second dose.
Full Article
Nov 17, 2020
Virus evolution could undermine a COVID-19 vaccine – but this can be stopped
The first drug against HIV brought dying patients back from the brink. But as excited doctors raced to get the miracle drug to new patients, the miracle melted away. In each and every patient, the drug only worked only for a while.
Full Article