The measles virus (MeV) is one of the most contagious RNA viruses, primarily affecting children under the age of five. Although the introduction of measles vaccines in the 1960s significantly reduced global mortality, MeV still causes approximately 100,000 deaths each year, underscoring its continued public health impact. In this lecture, we will explore the evolutionary history of MeV, from pre-vaccine era strains to modern variants, and examine how widespread vaccination has influenced its genetic trajectory. We will also compare MeV with rinderpest, a closely related virus eradicated in cattle through vaccination, to highlight lessons from the past in viral evolution, emergence, and control.
Benjamin Guinet is an early-career researcher at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health, where he was recently awarded an Alfried Krupp Junior Fellowship to study measles evolution. In conjunction with a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship beginning in September 2026, he will also work on the evolution of rinderpest mediated by vaccination at the University of Leuven (Belgium). Benjamin Guinet earned his Ph.D. from the University of Lyon (France), which was recognized by the French-Speaking Society of Virology in 2023. His work focused on viral domestication in parasitic wasp species. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm (Sweden), investigating ancient host-associated microbial interactions with mammoths. Benjamin Guinet is a Junior Fellow at the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald for the 2025/26 academic year.
Moderation: Professor Dr. Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer