Dr. Rowan Durrant

At IDDConf 2023.

Contact Information

University of Glasgow - School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Glasgow
Scotland

Email: rowan.durrant@glasgow.ac.uk
Bluesky: @rowandurrant.bsky.social
Pronouns: she/her
Name pronunciation: roe-un duh-runt

Research Interests

I am a postdoctoral researcher working at the intersection of virus phylogenetics and evolutionary modelling. I am interested in how the host shapes the pathogen's genome, how outbreaks can affect host genetics, and how viral genomic data can be best used to make a real-world impact on the response to an outbreak. I have worked on foot and mouth disease, rabies, devil facial tumour disease, and prion diseases.

My PhD thesis is available to read here: Genetic analysis of the rabies virus.

Publications

• Durrant, R., Cobbold, C., Brunker, K., Campbell, K., Dushoff, J., Ferguson, E., Jaswant, G., Lugelo, A., Lushasi, K., Sikana, L., and Hampson, K. Examining the molecular clock hypothesis for the contemporary evolution of the rabies virus. PLOS Pathogens 20(11): e1012740.
• Yuson, M., Bautista, C., Rees, E.M., Bogaardt, C., Cruz, V.D.D., Durrant, R., Formstone, A., Manalo, D.L., Manzanilla, D.R., Kundergorski, M., Nacion, L., Aloyon, H., Bolivar, J.K., Bondoc, J., Cobbold, C., Panganiban, E., Telmo, S.V.M., Maestro, J., Miranda, M.E.G., Rui Chng, N., Brunker, K., and Hampson, K. Combining genomics and epidemiology to investigate a zoonotic outbreak of rabies in Romblon Province, Philippines. Nature Communications 15, 10753.
• Jaswant, G., Campbell, K., Czupryna, A., Mwatondo, A., Ogoti, B., Embregts, C.W.E., Kayuki, C., Kuchaka, D., Wambura, G., Oigo, J., Changalucha, J., Oyugi, J.O., Lushasi, K., Sikana, L., van Zwetselaar, M., Dekker, M.C.J., Muturi, M., Maritim, M., Mutunga, M., Durrant, R., Abala, T., Chuchu, V., Brunker, K., Thumbi, S.M., and Hampson, K. Molecular characterisation of human rabies in Tanzania and Kenya: a case series report and phylogenetic investigation. Infectious Diseases of Poverty 13, 79.

• Bautista, C., Jaswant, G., French, H., Campbell, C., Durrant, R., Gifford, R., Kia, G.S.N., Ogoti, B., Hampson, K., and Brunker, K. Whole genome sequencing for rapid characterization of rabies virus using Nanopore technology. JoVE (198) e65414.

• Durrant, R., Hamede, R., Wells, K., and Lurgi, M. Disruption of metapopulation structure reduces Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease spread at the expense of abundance and genetic diversity. Pathogens 10(12): 1592.

Preprints

• Durrant, R., Dushoff, J., Arnold, M., Cobbold, C., and Hampson, K. Differences in codon usage between host-species-specific rabies virus clades are driven by UpA and purine content. BioRxiv 2026.

What am I doing right now?

(Last updated 6 May 2026 - archive)

• Last week I moved back to Scotland, and yesterday I started my new role as a Research Associate at the University of Glasgow.
• My new project involves bioinformatics, phylogenetics and modelling, and I'm very excited to get started!