Research

Benjamin Franklin once said, "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." The importance of preparedness for public health emergencies was made evident by the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic. Southeast Asia is a known hotspot for zoonotic viruses, and the extensive land-use changes and climate shifts significantly alter wildlife ecosystems, thereby increasing the risk of zoonotic virus spillover into human populations. Our research focuses on the active surveillance of highly pathogenic zoonotic viruses at the human-animal interface using high-throughput and high-resolution serological assays. We aim to understand regional infectious disease threats and preemptively prepare for future outbreaks through therapeutic and vaccine development. Our goal is to prevent outbreaks from becoming pandemics.

Diagnostic & Surveillance

Our lab is dedicated to developing high-throughput multiplex serological tools for viruses with pandemic potential. We focus on serology-based viral surveillance to better understand viral spillover dynamics and assess infectious disease threats in the region.

We have established a multiplex surrogate neutralization test that blocks the receptor-RBD protein-protein interaction, enabling the rapid detection of functional neutralizing antibodies. This assay shows a strong correlation with traditional live virus neutralization tests, allowing for efficient, accurate, and high-throughput sero-surveillance using small sample volumes.

Universal Vaccine & Therapeutic antibody

We aim to assess novel pathogens' disease risk and pre-emptively prepare for the next outbreak through universal vaccine and therapeutic development.

Capacity building & International collaboration

We work closely with our regional and international collaborators/partners to better prepare for the next outbreak. We provide training and resources related to multiplex surrogate neutralization test and pseudotyped viruses for highly pathogenic viruses (Contact us for more information).

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