EP 867C Fighting Off the Flu

Guest Bio: Richard Webby, PhD

Richard Webby, PhD, is a Member of the Department of Infectious diseases at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals.

He has a basic research program, funded by ALSAC, the fundraising arm of St. Jude, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health, that focuses on influenza viruses at the human-animal interface. This work involves virologic and serologic surveillance activities in animal and human populations to determine the prevalence of influenza viruses present. Further laboratory-based research sets out to understand the mechanisms behind various viral phenotypes.

His expertise is in influenza virology and he has substantial experience in in vivo and in vitro models of influenza virus replication, pathogenicity, and transmission. Data collected through the above activities feeds into the WHO GISRS system for risk assessment of circulating influenza viruses and, where appropriate, subsequent pandemic preparedness activities such as candidate vaccine virus production and distribution.