In this work led by PhD candidate Eric J. Ma, our group co-analyzed influenza sequencing data and influenza host barcode sequences, and discovered that genome shuffling is a mechanism that is favored when influenza jumps between viral hosts. It more broadly speaks to reticulate evolution as an evolutionary process that enables organisms to switch between ecological niches. Co-authors on this paper include Dr. Nichola J. Hill, Kyle Yuan (4th year undergraduate) and Justin Zabilansky (MIT alumnus).