Gavin Smith

Prof Smith’s research programme primarily investigates the ecology and evolution of zoonotic viruses and the molecular epidemiology of human respiratory pathogens.

Prof. Smith's research is highly collaborative and involves working with clinicians, veterinarians, epidemiologists, ecologists, ornithologists, mathematicians and computer scientists to integrate diverse experimental approaches.

Education

PhD, Evolutionary biology, The University of Hong Kong (2003)
Bachelor of Science (Hons), Botany/Ecology, The University of Melbourne (1996)

Awards and recognition

Chris Baldock Prize for Early Career Researchers, Australia (2007)
Outstanding Young Researcher, The University of Hong Kong, China (2009)
DMID/NIAID/NIH USA Special Recognition Award “In honor of extraordinary work in H1N1 influenza research” (2010)
NIAID/NIH USA Selected Science Advances 2009 awarded for Rapid characterization of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus (2010)
Research Output Prize 2009–10 and 2011–12, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (2010 and 2012)
Appointed as Beijerinck Guest Chair, Beijerinck Virology Fund, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Kingdom of the Netherlands (2011).

Selected publications

Virk RK, Jayakumar J, Mendenhall IH, Moorthy M, Lam P, Linster M, Lim J, Lin C, Oon LEL, Lee HK, Koay ESC, Vijaykrishna D, Smith GJD, Su YCF (2020). Divergent evolutionary trajectories of influenza B viruses underlie their contemporaneous epidemic activity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 117: 619-628.

Mendenhall IH, Kerimbayev AA, Strochkov VM, Sultankulova KT, Kopeyev SK, Su YCF, Smith GJD, Oyrnbayev MB (2019). Discovery and characterization of novel bat coronavirus lineages from Kazakhstan. Viruses 11: 356.

Dovih P, Laing ED, Chen Y, Low DHW, Ansil BR, Yang X, Shi Z, Broder CC, Smith GJD, Linster M, Ramakrishnan U, Mendenhall IH (2019). Filovirus-reactive antibodies in humans and bats in Northeast India imply zoonotic spillover. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 13: e0007733.

Ali M, Yaqub T, Mukhtar N, Imran M, Ghafoor A, Shahid MF, Naeem M, Iqbal M, Smith GJD, Su YCF (2019). Avian Influenza A(H9N2) Virus in Poultry Worker, Pakistan, 2015. Emerging Infectious Diseases 25: 136-139.

Laing ED, Mendenhall IH, Linster M, Low DHW, Chen Y, Yan L, Sterling SL, Borthwick S, Neves ES, Lim JSL, Skiles M, Lee BPY, Wang L, Broder CC and Smith GJD. (2018). Serologic Evidence of Fruit Bat Exposure to Filoviruses, Singapore, 2011–2016. Emgerging Infectious Diseases, 24(1), 122-126. https://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2401.170401.