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
Virulence Vaccines Viruses Pathogens Marek Disease Drug Resistance Aquaculture Farms Poultry Industry Genetic Drift Pathogen Chickens Pharmaceutical Preparations Dust Principal Component Analysis Malaria Vaccination Genome Dna Mardivirus Ecology Immunity Genomics VaccineMost Recent Papers
Monitor for COVID-19 vaccine resistance evolution during clinical trials
David Kennedy, A Read, 2020, PLOS Biology on p. e3001000
Molecular epidemiology of Marek’s disease virus in central Pennsylvania, USA
Andrew Bell, David Kennedy, Matthew Jones, Christopher Cairns, Utsav Pandey, Patricia Dunn, Moriah Szpara, Andrew Read, 2019, Virus Evolution
Why the evolution of vaccine resistance is less of a concern than the evolution of drug resistance.
David Kennedy, Andrew Read, 2018, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 12878-12886
Modeling Marek's disease virus transmission: A framework for evaluating the impact of farming practices and evolution
David A. Kennedy, Patricia Dunn, Andrew Fraser Read, 2018, Epidemics on p. 85-95
Effects of multiple sources of genetic drift on pathogen variation within hosts
David A. Kennedy, Greg Dwyer, 2018, PLoS Biology
Industry-wide surveillance of Marek’s disease virus on commercial poultry farms.
David A. Kennedy, Christopher Cairns, Matthew J. Jones, Andrew Stuart Bell, Rahel M. Salathé, Susan J. Baigent, Venugopal K. Nair, Patricia Dunn, Andrew Fraser Read, 2017, Avian Diseases on p. 153-164
Why does drug resistance readily evolve but vaccine resistance does not?
David A. Kennedy, Andrew Fraser Read, 2017, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
DNA from dust: Comparative genomics of large DNA viruses in field surveillance samples
Utsav Pandey, Andrew Bell, Daniel Renner, David Kennedy, Jacob Shreve, Chris Cairns, Matthew Jones, Patricia Dunn, Andrew Read, Moriah Szpara, 2016, mSphere on p. e00132--16
Potential drivers of virulence evolution in aquaculture
David A. Kennedy, Gael Kurath, Ilana L. Brito, Maureen K. Purcell, Andrew Fraser Read, James R. Winton, Andrew R. Wargo, 2016, Evolutionary Applications on p. 344-354
An observational study of the temporal and spatial patterns of Marek's-disease-associated leukosis condemnation of young chickens in the United States of America
David A. Kennedy, John R. Dunn, Patricia A. Dunn, Andrew F. Read, 2015, Preventive Veterinary Medicine on p. 328-335
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
Potential drivers of virulence evolution in aquaculture
David A. Kennedy, Gael Kurath, Ilana L. Brito, Maureen K. Purcell, Andrew Fraser Read, James R. Winton, Andrew R. Wargo, 2016, Evolutionary Applications on p. 344-354
Why does drug resistance readily evolve but vaccine resistance does not?
David A. Kennedy, Andrew Fraser Read, 2017, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Pathogen growth in insect hosts
David A. Kennedy, Vanja Dukic, Greg Dwyer, 2014, American Naturalist on p. 407-423
Industry-wide surveillance of Marek’s disease virus on commercial poultry farms.
David A. Kennedy, Christopher Cairns, Matthew J. Jones, Andrew Stuart Bell, Rahel M. Salathé, Susan J. Baigent, Venugopal K. Nair, Patricia Dunn, Andrew Fraser Read, 2017, Avian Diseases on p. 153-164
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
DNA from dust: Comparative genomics of large DNA viruses in field surveillance samples
Utsav Pandey, Andrew Bell, Daniel Renner, David Kennedy, Jacob Shreve, Chris Cairns, Matthew Jones, Patricia Dunn, Andrew Read, Moriah Szpara, 2016, mSphere on p. e00132--16
The effect of immunodeficiency on the evolution of virulence: An experimental test with the rodent malaria plasmodium chabaudi
Victoria C. Barclay, David A. Kennedy, Veronika C. Weaver, Derek Sim, James O. Lloyd-Smith, Andrew F. Read, 2014, American Naturalist on p. S47-S57
Effects of multiple sources of genetic drift on pathogen variation within hosts
David A. Kennedy, Greg Dwyer, 2018, PLoS Biology
Modeling Marek's disease virus transmission: A framework for evaluating the impact of farming practices and evolution
David A. Kennedy, Patricia Dunn, Andrew Fraser Read, 2018, Epidemics on p. 85-95
News Articles Featuring David Kennedy
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
Nov 11, 2020
Mutant coronaviruses found in mink spark massive culls and doom a Danish group’s research
Jens Malmkvist’s life’s work came to a dramatic end this week. An ethologist at Aarhus University, Malmkvist studies the behavior and welfare of farmed mink, with the aim of giving them a better life as they are raised for fur. But on Monday and Tuesday, all 6350 minks at the Aarhus facility were gassed as part of a nationwide cull ordered on 4 November by the Danish government.
Full Article
Nov 09, 2020
Vaccines will not be a 'silver bullet' to end Covid-19 immediately
A coronavirus vaccine won't immediately bring the pandemic to an end and scientists and officials must be honest about how long it will take to roll one out and get life back to normal, experts say.
Full Article
Nov 09, 2020
Could SARS-CoV-2 evolve resistance to COVID-19 vaccines?
Similar to bacteria evolving resistance to antibiotics, viruses can evolve resistance to vaccines, and the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 could undermine the effectiveness of vaccines that are currently under development, according to a paper published Nov. 9 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by David Kennedy and Andrew Read from Penn State.
Full Article