Bahl, Justin

Research Interests:

The over arching theme of my research is to understand the emergence and evolution of viral pathogens for pandemic preparedness. I use phylogenetic methods to understand the patterns and processes of evolutionary change in RNA virus populations. Much of my work has focused on the human-animal interface where I have primarily worked with human, swine and avian influenza viruses.

My research fits into four main categories:

1) Molecular epidemiology; 2) Ecological and evolutionary dynamics of viruses; 3) Risk Assessment; 4) Method development.

I currently work with Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the NIH funded St Jude Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance.

Selected Publications:

Bahl J*, Nelson MI, Chen R, Ghedin E, Halpin R, Stockwell T, Lin X, Vijaykrishna D, Chan KH, Peiris JSM, Riley S, Rambaut R, Holmes EC Smith GJD* (2011) Temporally structured meta-population dynamics of human influenza A H3N2 virus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA *corresponding author (Accepted)

Bahl J*, Lau MCY*, Smith GJD*, Vijaykrishna D*, Cary SC, Chan Y, Lacap DC, Lee CS, Papke RT, Warren-Rhodes KA, Wong FKY, McKay CP, & Pointing SB   (2011) Ancient origins determine global biogeography of hot and cold desert cyanobacteria. Nature Communications 25;2:163. [*equal contribution]

Ducatez MF, Bahl J, Griffin Y, Stigger-Rosser E, Franks J, Barman S, Vijaykrishna D, Webb A, Guan Y, Webster RG, Smith GJD, Webby RJ. (2011). Cross-clade protective vaccine developed from reconstructed ancestral H5N1 influenza viruses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 108: 349-354 doi: 10.1073/pnas.1012457108

Huang K*, Bahl J*, Fan XH, Vijaykrishna D, Cheung CL, Webby RJ, Webster RG, Chen H, Smith GJD, Periris JSM, Guan Y. (2010) Establishment of an H6N2 influenza virus lineage in domestic ducks in southern China. Journal of Virology 84:6978-86 [*equal contribution]

Smith GJD*, Vijaykrishna D*, Bahl J*, Lycett SJ*, Worobey M*, Pybus OG*, Ma SK, Cheung CL, Raghwani J, Bhatt, S, Peiris JSM, Guan Y, Rambaut A* (2009). Origins and evolutionary genomics of the 2009 swine-origin H1N1 influenza A epidemic. Nature 459:1122-5 [*equal contribution]

Smith GJD*, Bahl J*, Vijaykrishna D*, Zhang JX, Poon LLM, Chen H, Webster RG, Peiris JSM, Guan Y (2009). Dating the emergence of pandemic influenza viruses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 106:11709-12 [*equal contribution]

Bahl J, Vijaykrishna D, Holmes EC, Smith GJD, Guan Y (2009). Gene flow and competitive exclusion of avian influenza A virus. Virology, doi:10.1016/j.virol.2009.05.002.