Hall 1

As we emerge from the most serious infectious disease event of the past century, we must unfortunately acknowledge that COVID will not be the last viral pandemic that humanity will experience. On an overpopulated planet, our interface with animals and their viruses can only increase, leading to the cross over events that pave the way for viruses to emerge. Over the past 30 years, my research has considered how influenza viruses, and now coronaviruses, can cross from animals to humans and cause respiratory virus pandemics. To understand the risk of zoonoses and pandemic emergence, we define the interactions between the virus and the host that determine host range, including events both inside and outside the host cell. The aim is to use such insights to intensify surveillance and prioritize research around the most likely future pandemic pathogens.  Understanding the virus:host relationship at the molecular level can also offer new routes for controlling viral infections, and reveal the fundamental mechanisms of virus replication and transmission.