Dr David Duchene is an Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen, co-leading the Computational and Mathematical Global Health group at the Department of Public Health. Originally trained as an evolutionary biologist, his research traverses various fields including evolutionary modelling, comparative analysis, biogeography, epidemiology (phylodynamics), and most recently machine learning in public health. His past work has largely focused on explaining how and why molecules evolve (these molecules being the genes of animals or pathogens), using a broad diversity of statistical approaches. In collaboration with genome-sequencing consortia, his work connects processes at the ‘macro’ scale (macroevolution, macroecology, phylogeography) with those at ‘micro’ scales (molecular evolution). One broad question being: how and why do novel living beings and pathogens emerge? Another current focus of his research the challenge of identifying infection in livestock and wildlife using techniques from computer vision. The link between animal movement (neuroscience), infection (epidemiology), and genomics is an exciting budding field that will requre a truly interdisciplinary team.