Ljungdahl Lecture: “The world of viruses and its evolution (with an appendix on SARS-CoV-2)”, Dr. Eugene Koonin

Professor Emeritus Lars G. Ljungdahl joined the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology in 1967, and has remained closely associated with us to this day. Professor Ljungdahl was a pioneer in the field of anaerobic metabolism, and made remarkable discoveries leading to what is now known as the Ljungdahl/Wood pathway, and about supramolecular cellulosome complexes that efficiently digest cellulose. To celebrate his accomplishments and his deep ties to the University of Georgia, his late wife Despy Karlas established, in 2007, an endowment that makes this annual lectureship possible. This year's speaker is Dr. Eugene Koonin, NIH Distinguished Investigator, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, N.I.H.