Vijay Dhanasekaran

Vijay Dhanasekaran is an **Adjunct Associate Professor** in the Department of Microbiology at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (Monash University). He holds an external position as Adjunct Associate Professor at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza (Victoria) from March 2019 to March 2022.

His research focuses on **virus evolution, disease surveillance, and infectious disease dynamics**, integrating genomic data with clinical, epidemiological, and immunological insights. Key themes include:

• Pathogen evolution in natural reservoirs (e.g., birds, bats)
• Origins of human pandemics (e.g., influenza, Enterovirus 71, Dengue)
• Host immune system interactions influencing viral transmission

**Projects**: He has led/co-investigated projects such as:

• NIAID Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (2016–2020)
• Identifying molecular factors influencing pandemic potential of avian influenza H5 viruses (2019–2021)

His work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to global health and pandemic preparedness. The Laboratory of Virus Evolution (LoVE) under his leadership applies computational and experimental methods to study viral emergence and evolution across spatiotemporal scales.