Vijaykrishna Dhanasekaran
B.Sc., M.Sc., M.Phil., Ph.D
Assistant Professor
Division of Public Health Laboratory Sciences
Contact Information
Tel: +852 2831 5516
Email: veej@hku.hk
Address: 7/F Hong Kong Jockey Club Building for Interdisciplinary Research, 5 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong
Academic Information
Main Objectives and Strategy
Professor Vijay Dhanasekaran's laboratory conducts advanced research at the intersection of infectious disease ecology, evolution and epidemiology, aiming to uncover the mechanisms driving disease emergence and transmission. The lab’s work is rooted in fundamental biological sciences, encompassing virology, immunology, evolutionary biology, and animal and public health. This multidisciplinary approach is complemented by modern computational techniques, including artificial intelligence, to enhance the understanding of pathogen diversity, host adaptation, and interspecies transmission.
In collaboration with national and international health organizations, the lab conducts comprehensive virus surveillance across animal, human, and environmental reservoirs. The lab employs a comprehensive suite of methods by integrating cutting-edge diagnostics, advanced sequencing technologies, and molecular biology with ecological and evolutionary models. These include computational genomics, machine learning, and AI-driven models, which are used to synthesize virus and host data. These approaches, including population genetics and phylogenetics, allow us to identify trends, predict pathogen behaviour, and unravel evolutionary dynamics at both the molecular and population levels. This approach provides critical insights into population-level dynamics and informs strategies for pandemic preparedness, outbreak mitigation, and containment of emerging infectious diseases.
While the lab broadly investigates pathogens with pandemic potential, it primary focus is on rapidly evolving Influenza and Coronaviruses, which have wide host ranges and pose significant threats to both animal and human health through pandemics and seasonal outbreaks. Additionally, the lab’s ongoing projects investigate a diverse range of One Health pathogens, including those affecting wildlife and livestock, as well as insect-borne viruses such as Dengue and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), which are expanding due to climate change. Research into these pathogens addresses the complex interplay between environmental factors and pathogen dynamics, offering vital insights that shape future research, guide public health strategies, and inform global pandemic preparedness.
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Biosketch
Professor Vijaykrishna Dhanasekaran was appointed as Associate Professor in the School of Public Health (SPH) at the University of Hong Kong in 2020. Before joining SPH, he was faculty at Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore from 2010 and Monash University Australia from 2016, and prior to that a postdoctoral fellow and research assistant professor at HKU Department of Microbiology. He has a BSc, MSc, and MPhil from University of Madras (1994-2000), and a PhD in microbial ecology and evolution from the University of Hong Kong (2002-2005).
Professor Dhanasekaran is head of Pathogen Evolution lab. His primary research focus is on the genomic evolution and epidemiology of rapidly evolving viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, influenza, RSV, and others. By conducting epidemiological studies across Asia-Pacific, and through integration of genomic datasets with clinical and immunological data, his group aims to advance understanding of the genetic and ecological factors that determine the emergence and distribution of infectious diseases. Professor Dhanasekaran has published over 100 research articles with >14,000 citations.
