About

Kevin Lewis’s research focuses on problems in planetary geophysics, from the scale of a grain of sand all the way up to the crust of a planet. He has worked in depth on the nature of sedimentary rocks of Mars, and what they might record about that planet's past climate and habitability. He is also interested in understanding the large-scale properties of planetary lithospheres using magnetic, gravity, and topography data sets.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Virology
• Geomorphology
• Emergency medicine
• Pediatrics
• Earth science
• Pathology
• Biology
• Immunology
• Computational biology
• Demography
• Geology
• Genetics
• Paleontology
• Astrobiology

Selected publications

• Clinical features and management of individuals admitted to hospital with monkeypox and associated complications across the UK: a retrospective cohort study

  The Lancet Infectious Diseases · 2022 · 98 citations

  • Medicine
  • Pediatrics
  • Emergency medicine
  DOI

• Changes in symptomatology, reinfection, and transmissibility associated with the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7: an ecological study

  The Lancet Public Health · 2021 · 343 citations

  • Medicine
  • Demography
  • Internal medicine

  BACKGROUND: The SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 was first identified in December, 2020, in England. We aimed to investigate whether increases in the proportion of infections with this variant are associated with differences in symptoms or disease course, reinfection rates, or transmissibility. METHODS: , for the two incidence estimates. FINDINGS: fell below 1 during regional and national lockdowns, even in regions with high proportions of infections with the B.1.1.7 variant. INTERPRETATION: The lack of change in symptoms identified in this study indicates that existing testing and surveillance infrastructure do not need to change specifically for the B.1.1.7 variant. In addition, given that there was no apparent increase in the reinfection rate, vaccines are likely to remain effective against the B.1.1.7 variant. FUNDING: Zoe Global, Department of Health (UK), Wellcome Trust, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK), National Institute for Health Research (UK), Medical Research Council (UK), Alzheimer's Society.

  DOI

• A Rock Record of Complex Aeolian Bedforms in a Hesperian Desert Landscape: The Stimson Formation as Exposed in the Murray Buttes, Gale Crater, Mars

  Journal of Geophysical Research Planets · 2021 · 58 citations

  • Geology
  • Geomorphology
  • Paleontology

  Abstract Lithified aeolian strata encode information about ancient planetary surface processes and the climate during deposition. Decoding these strata provides insight regarding past sediment transport processes, bedform kinematics, depositional landscape, and the prevailing climate. Deciphering these signatures requires a detailed analysis of sedimentary architecture to reconstruct dune morphology, motion, and the conditions that enabled their formation. Here, we show that a distinct sandstone unit exposed in the foothills of Mount Sharp, Gale crater, Mars, records the preserved expression of compound aeolian bedforms that accumulated in a large dune field. Analysis of Mastcam images of the Stimson formation shows that it consists of cross‐stratified sandstone beds separated by a hierarchy of erosive bounding surfaces formed during dune migration. The presence of two orders of surfaces with distinct geometrical relations reveals that the Stimson‐era landscape consisted of large dunes (draas) with smaller, superimposed dunes migrating across their lee slopes. Analysis of cross‐lamination and subset bounding surface geometries indicate a complex wind regime that transported sediment toward the north, constructing oblique dunes. This dune field was a direct product of the regional climate and the surface processes active in Gale crater during the fraction of the Hesperian Period recorded by the Stimson formation. The environment was arid, supporting a large aeolian dune field; this setting contrasts with earlier humid depositional episodes, recorded by the lacustrine sediments of the Murray formation (also Hesperian). Such fine‐scale reconstruction of landscapes on the ancient surface of Mars is important to understanding the planet’s past climate and habitability.

  DOI

• The impact of viral mutations on recognition by SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells

  iScience · 2021 · 91 citations

  • Virology
  • Biology
  • Computational biology

  . CD8+ T cell lines unable to recognize variant epitopes have diverse T cell receptor repertoires. These data demonstrate the potential for T cell evasion and highlight the need for ongoing surveillance for variants capable of escaping T cell as well as humoral immunity.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• J. P. Grotzinger

  California Institute of Technology

  105 shared

• C. Labaune

  Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

  92 shared

• David M. Rubin

  University of California, Santa Cruz

  78 shared

• H. Bandulet

  Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique

  74 shared

• Sanjeev Gupta

  Imperial College London

  65 shared

• J. A. Grant

  Smithsonian Institution

  63 shared

• D. Y. Sumner

  University of California, Davis

  59 shared

• A. R. Vasavada

  Jet Propulsion Laboratory

  52 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Geological and Planetary Sciences

  California Institute of Technology

  2009

Similar researchers at Johns Hopkins University

• Richard Huganirh-210
• Steven L. Salzbergh-191
• Arturo Casadevallh-152
• Peter Campochiaroh-139
• Alan Yuilleh-134