Efrem Lim, an ASU virologist who is working tirelessly in the Biodesign Institute where his lab is sequencing and tracking COVID-19 variants for the state and the U.S., is the recipient of the 2022 Faculty Research Achievement Award. 

At Arizona State University, Efrem Lim is a virologist and assistant professor in the School of Life Sciences and the Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics. He is also the principal investigator of the Center for Viral Genomics at ASU, where his team investigates the human virome in health and disease. Over the past few years, he has played a pivotal role in COVID-19 research to advance public safety.

In early 2020, Lim and his team first identified a SARS-CoV-2 mutation that had never been found before. His lab uses a state-of-the-art technology called next-generation sequencing to rapidly read through the 30,000 letters of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genetic code. Shortly after the data was published in the Journal of Virology, the research attracted worldwide interest from the scientific community and the World Health Organization. 

This launched Lim’s team into dedicated efforts to track different genetic variants of COVID-19. Together with TGen North, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University, they formed the Arizona COVID-19 Genomics Union to track the genetic evolution of the virus across the state — giving Arizona health care providers and public policy makers a fighting edge against the ongoing pandemic.

Lim and his team now sequence several thousands of genomes every week. Recently, his lab crossed a milestone of 40,000 COVID-19 cases sequenced. Through their statewide surveillance efforts, they provide crucial information on emerging variants of concern to county, state and federal public health agencies in real time.