Jacob led a major research effort that sequenced 772 SARS-CoV-2 genomes to trace how the virus spread across the Boston area during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. This type of genomic surveillance works by cataloging the distinct mutations that a virus accumulates as it is transmitted from person to person. With BroadIgnite support, Jacob will expand upon this work and test whether monitoring these mutations in real time can help contact tracing efforts in Massachusetts. By collecting and analyzing genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 from Boston-area hospitals every week for the next six months, his hope is to detect—and alert public health experts to—new clusters of Covid-19 in the area before they spread.