Daniela Brites, PhD

Dr. Daniela Brites leads the bioinformatics activities in the Tuberculosis Ecology and Evolution group, she lectures as Privatdozentin at the University of Basel, and she is a member of the training team of the Swiss Institute for Bioinformatics. She applies genomics and computational approaches to study the evolution and epidemiology of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, with a focus on understanding its adaptation to different hosts, and its global transmission in human and animal populations.

She is also engaged in bioinformatics capacity strengthening, supporting computational training and collaborative genomics research in several African countries.

Her expertise includes population genomics, infectious disease evolution, bioinformatics, teaching and training.

Zwyer M, Xu Z.M, Ross A, Hella J, Sasamalo M, Rotival M, Hiza H.C, Rutaihwa L.K, Borrell S, Reither K, Fellay J, Portevin D, Quintana-Murci L, Gagneux S, Brites D. Human genetic ancestry, Mycobacterium tuberculosis diversity, and tuberculosis disease severity in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. eLife. 2026;14:RP103533. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.103533

Windels E.M, Valenzuela Agüí C, de Jong B.C, Meehan C.J, Loiseau C, Goig G.A, Zwyer M, Borrell S, Brites D, Gagneux S, Stadler T. Onset of infectiousness explains differences in transmissibility across Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineages. Epidemics. 2025;51:100821. DOI: 10.1016/j.epidem.2025.100821

Windels E.M, Wampande E.M, Joloba M.L, Boom W.H, Goig G.A, Cox H, Hella J, Borrell S, Gagneux S, Brites D, Stadler T. HIV co-infection is associated with reduced Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmissibility in sub-Saharan Africa. PLoS Pathog. 2024;20(5):e1011675. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011675

Zwyer M, Rutaihwa L.K, Windels E, Hella J, Menardo F, Sasamalo M, Sommer G, Schmülling L, Borrell S, Reinhard M, Dötsch A, Hiza H, Stritt C, Sikalengo G, Fenner L, De Jong B.C, Kato-Maeda M, Jugheli L, Ernst J.D, Niemann S, Jeljeli L, Ballif M, Egger M, Rakotosamimanana N, Yeboah-Manu D, Asare P, Malla B, Dou H.Y, Zetola N, Wilkinson R.J, Cox H, Carter E.J, Gnokoro J, Yotebieng M, Gotuzzo E, Abimiku A, Avihingsanon A, Xu Z.M, Fellay J, Portevin D, Reither K, Stadler T, Gagneux S, Brites D. Back-to-Africa introductions of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the main cause of tuberculosis in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. PLoS Pathog. 2023;19(4):e1010893. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010893

Coscolla M, Gagneux S, Menardo F, Loiseau C, Ruiz-Rodriguez P, Borrell S, Otchere I.D, Asante-Poku A, Asare P, Sanchez-Buso L, Gehre F, Sanoussi C.N, Antonio M, Affolabi D, Fyfe J, Beckert P, Niemann S, Alabi A.S, Grobusch M.P, Kobbe R, Parkhill J, Beisel C, Fenner L, Bottger E.C, Meehan C.J, Harris S.R, de Jong B.C, Yeboah-Manu D, Brites D. Phylogenomics of Mycobacterium africanum reveals a new lineage and a complex evolutionary history. Microb Genom. 2021;7(2):000477. DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000477

Zwyer M, Çavusoglu C, Ghielmetti G, Pacciarini M.L, Scaltriti E, Van Soolingen D, Dötsch A, Reinhard M, Gagneux S, Brites D. A new nomenclature for the livestock-associated Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex based on phylogenomics. Open Res Eur. 2021;1:100. DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.14029.2

Loiseau C, Menardo F, Aseffa A, Hailu E, Gumi B, Ameni G, Berg S, Rigouts L, Robbe-Austerman S, Zinsstag J, Gagneux S, Brites D. An African origin for Mycobacterium bovis. Evol Med Public Health. 2020;2020:49-59. DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoaa005

Rutaihwa L, Menardo F, Stucki D, Gygli S.M, Ley S.D, Malla B, Feldmann J, Borrell S, Beisel C, Middelkoop K, Carter J.E, Diero L, Ballif M, Jugheli L, Reither K, Fenner L, Brites D, Gagneux S. Multiple introductions of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 2-Beijing into Africa over centuries. Front Ecol Evol. 2019;7:112. DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00112

Brites D, Loiseau C, Menardo F, Borrell S, Boniotti B, Warren R, Dippenaar A, Parsons S.D.C, Beisel C, Behr M.A, Fyfe J.A, Coscolla M, Gagneux S. A new phylogenetic framework for the animal-adapted Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Front Microbiol. 2018;9:2820. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.02820

Koch A, Brites D, Stucki D, Evans J.C, Seldon R, Heekes A, Mulder N, Nicol M, Oni T, Warner D.F, Mizrahi V, Parkhill J, Gagneux S, Martin D.P, Wilkinson R.J. The influence of HIV on the evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mol Biol Evol. 2017;34(7):1654-1668. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msx107

Stucki D, Brites D, Jeljeli L, Coscolla M, Liu Q, Trauner A, Fenner L, Rutaihwa L, Borrell S, Luo T, Gao Q, Kato-Maeda M, Ballif M, Egger M, Macedo R, Mardassi H, Moreno M, Vilanova G.T, Fyfe J, Globan M, Thomas J, Jamieson F, Guthrie J.L, Asante-Poku A, Yeboah-Manu D, Wampande E, Ssengooba W, Joloba M, Boom W.H, Basu I, Bower J, Saraiva M, Vasconcellos S.E, Suffys P, Koch A, Wilkinson R, Gail-Bekker L, Malla B, Ley S.D, Beck H.P, de Jong B.C, Toit K, Sanchez-Padilla E, Bonnet M, Gil-Brusola A, Frank M, Penlap Beng V.N, Eisenach K, Alani I, Ndung'u P.W, Revathi G, Gehre F, Akter S, Ntoumi F, Stewart-Isherwood L, Ntinginya N.E, Rachow A, Hoelscher M, Cirillo D.M, Skenders G, Hoffner S, Bakonyte D, Stakenas P, Diel R, Crudu V, Moldovan O, Al-Hajoj S, Otero L, Barletta F, Carter E.J, Diero L, Supply P, Comas I, Niemann S, Gagneux S. Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages. Nat Genet. 2016;48(12):1535-1543. DOI: 10.1038/ng.3704

Brites D, Gagneux S. Co-evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Homo sapiens. Immunol Rev. 2015;264:6-24. DOI: 10.1111/imr.12264

Brites D, Gagneux S. Old and new selective pressures on Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Infect Genet Evol. 2012;12(4):678-685. DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2011.08.010

Switzerland

• Member of Training Team, from 01.01.2026, to 01.01.2030, Swiss Institute for Bioinformatics (SIB), Switzerland, https://www.sib.swiss/