“One-Health” Infectious Disease Research & Pandemic Surveillance Networks in Asia
Infectious diseases and health pandemics are increasingly having adverse impacts on the health and well-being of societies across the world and global economies. Amid Covid-19 health pandemic, countries across the globe recognise the nexus between health and economic ecosystems; and the importance of understanding the source and vectors of the transmissions of infectious diseases across the globe. Significant investments are now being channelled by governments into healthcare systems to develop more robust systems to pre-empt, detect and manage infectious diseases and health pandemic. In this context, Monash Malaysia researchers are studying the genesis, transmission, management and risk reduction of current and future infectious diseases that impact the region, with a particular focus on arboviruses, corona viruses and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the region. We envisioned that research work undertaken at Monash Malaysia will inform intervention strategies to address AMR problems and health pandemics in the developing world. Another research focus is on vaccine development for infectious agents that are endemic to this region.
Key contact information:
Associate Professor Sharifah Syed Hassan
Assoc. Prof. Sharifah Syed Hassan is a molecular virologist. Her current interests are on host-pathogens interaction especially involving Flavivirus infections. Her group has developed and established Aedes aegypti and albopictus midgut cDNA library for use in host-viral interaction studies. She has also developed a recombinant Lactococcus-surface displayed multiple-influenza antigens vaccine against influenza.
Prof. Sunil Lal's main research focus has been on host-virus interactions in Hepatitis E virus, SARS-Coronavirus and Influenza virus. He is an Elected Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (India) and an elected member of the Central Council of the Indian Microbiologists Association. His research has produced over 100 publications in international scientific journals and he has published three international books on emerging viral diseases.
Prof. Sadequr Rahman's interest is in the applications of molecular biology, genetics and genomics for food security and environmental health and span a range of organisms - from bacteria to plants and animals. His research work has generated 10 intellectual properties on various aspects of altering starch and lipids in cereal grains.
Dr Vinod RMT Balasubramaniam is a molecular virologist (trained in Monash and Mount Sinai New York) particularly interested in crosstalks between host and viral proteins; specifically, how host cells interact and the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathophysiologic process of virus infection. He has co-authored various high impact publications (Cell, Cell Host Microbe, Nature Microbiology, mSystems, Plos Pathogens, Cell Reports etc) on various aspects of host response towards different types of viruses. On a more specific note, host cellular machinery plays a vital role in the survival of viruses. The outcome of infection is determined by complex host-virus interactions with a large number of altered transcriptional and translational rates, and functional kinetics of participating genes. To date, the first-hand information on the molecular changes in the host induced by the virus to promote its replication and also the pathways triggered in the host that result in immunity and or clearance of the viral infection are still lacking. Having insights into the host's responses to viruses would help define targets for therapeutic intervention. Some of the projects currently going on includes, (i) Infectomics of Flavivirus on various host systems, (ii) Development of a EV D-68 (Enterovirus) animal model, (iii) Development of Chikungunya virus entry inhibitors, (iv) Regulations of host cellular responses (comparison with various types of animal/in vitro models) during infection with viruses such as H5N1, Zika, DENV, EV D-68 and Chikungunya.
Prof. Tin Tin Su is a public health physician and researcher with more than 20 years of working experience. She is passionate in improving population health via community health development approach, social epidemiology and implementation research. She is a director of SouthEast Asia Community Observatory (SEACO) Health & Demographic Surveillance system and principal investigator for a community cohort which includes about 38,000 population. SEACO conducts a community based “whole of life” research.
Associate Professor Lee Learn Han
Assoc. Prof. Lee Learn-Han is the Leader of the Microbiome and Bioresource Research Strength in the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is a molecular microbiologist focusing on microbiome research. His core research focus on the study of “bad” microbes (e.g. Salmonella, Vibrios) and how they make people sick, while suggesting better detection and management options. Also, his team discovered novel “good” microbes (e.g. Actinobacteria) for drug discovery purposes. His leadership and achievements in studying antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pathogens have led to top international recognition, evidenced by invitation by US-FDA representing Malaysian researchers to collaborate on genetic study of AMR pathogens from Malaysia. Furthermore, he has been recognized with the award as the best Medical Science researcher in Malaysia in 2018, as the sole recipient for the Malaysia’s Research Star Award (MRSA) Winner 2018 – High Impact Paper in the Medical Science category. As a passionate researcher, to date, Dr Lee has registered 2 patents, published 4 academic books, 8 book chapters, and published 167 articles with cumulative citations of 5000, H-index of 41 and i10-index of 93.