Wang Linfa

Professor

Director, Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme

Email

Bio Research Publications

Prof Wang is the Director of the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.

Prof Wang is an expert in the field of zoonotic diseases, bat immunology and pathogen discovery. His early research was at the Monash Centre for Molecular Biology and Medicine. In 1990, he joined the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) where he played a leading role in identifying bats as the natural host of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus. His research then extended from bat-borne viruses to better understand virus-bat interaction and how bats co-exist with a large number of viruses without developing clinical diseases. His recent research contributions include developing antibody based serological tests to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak, and the early and successful culture of the virus from an infected patents sample. His team is also working together with local and international partners to develop new vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19.

Prof Wang is a member of multiple World Health Organization committees on COVID-19. His work has been recognised internationally through various international awards, numerous invited speeches at major international conferences and more than 400 scientific papers including many top scientific publications in Science, Nature, Nature Reviews in Microbiology, Lancet and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), along with five patents and many invited book chapters. He holds a number of honorary positions and memberships and has received numerous awards such as the 2014 Eureka Prize for Research in Infectious Diseases. In 2010, Prof Wang was elected as a Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in recognition of his expertise in new and emerging diseases. He is also active internationally by serving on various editorial boards for publication in the areas of virology, microbiology and infectious diseases. He is currently the Editor-in- Chief of the Virology Journal.

Prof Wang holds a PhD degree from the University of California, Davis USA and a Bachelor's degree from the East China Normal University, Shanghai China.

Education 

University of California, Davis Ph.D. Biochemistry (Molecular Biology), 1986

East China Normal University, Shanghai B.S. (Honors) Biology (Biochemistry), 1982


Professional Experience

OCE Science Leader, CSIRO Australian Animal Health 2008 Laboratory, Geelong, Vic. - present

Senior Principal Research Scientist and project leader, CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Vic. 2004 – 2008

Project Leader, Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases (AB-CRC), Brisbane, Qld. 2003 – 2010

Principal Research Scientist and project leader, CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Vic. 1996 – 2004

Senior Research Scientist and project leader, CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Vic. 1992 – 1996

Research Scientist, CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Vic. 1990 – 1992

Senior Research Officer, the Centre for Molecular Biology and Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 1990 – 1990

Senior Tutor, Department of Biochemistry, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 1989 – 1990

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Davis. 1986 – 1989

Postgraduate Student, Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Davis. 1982 – 1986


Awards and Fellowships

2014   Winner of Australian Eureka Prize for Infectious Disease Research

2014   Finalist, President Science Award (PSA) Singapore

2014   Finalist, Prime Minister Award for Science, Australia

2014   ASM Bazeley Orator, Melbourne

2013   CSIRO Chaiman’s Medal

2012   Gardner Lectureship by the European Society of Clinical Virology

2010   Elected Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering 

2008   CSIRO OCE Science Leader Award

2007   Finalist, Eureka Prize for Scientific Research 

2006   CSIRO Award for Excellence in Partnership 

 

Li, W., Shi, Z., Yu, M., Ren, W., Smith, C., Epstein, J.H., Wang, H., Crameri, G., Hu, Z., Zhang, H., Zhang, J., McEachern, J., Field, H., Daszak, P., Eaton, B.T., Zhang, S., and Wang, L.-F. (2005) Bats are natural reservoir of SARS-like coronaviruses. Science 310: 676-679.

Bonaparte, M.I., Dimitrov, A.S., Bossart, K.N., Crameri, G., Mungall, B.A., Bishop, K.A., Choudhry, V., Dimitrov, D.S., Wang, L.-F., Eaton, B.T., and Broder, C.C. (2005) Ephrin-B2 ligand is a functional receptor for Hendra virus and Nipah virus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102: 10652-10657.

Eaton, B.T., Broder, C.C., Middleton, D. and Wang, L.-F. (2006). Hendra and Nipah viruses: different and dangerous. Nature Reviews Microbiol. 4: 23-35.

Wang, L.-F., Shi, Z., Zhang, S., Field, H., Daszak, P. and Eaton, B.T. (2006) Review of bats and SARS. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 12: 1834-1840.

Eaton, B.T., Mackenzie, J.S. and Wang, L.-F. (2007) Henipaviruses. In: Fields Virology 5th Ed (eds,D.M. Knipe, D.E. Griffin, R.A. Lamb, S.E. Straus, P.M. Howley, M.A. Martin and B. Roizman), pp. 1587-1600, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, USA.

Chua, K.B., Crameri, C., Hyatt, A., Yu, M., Tompang, M.R., Rosli, J., McEachern, J., Crameri, S., Kumarasamy, V., Eaton, B.T. and Wang, L.-F. (2007) A previously unknown reovirus of bat origin is associated with an acute respiratory disease in humans. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104: 11424-11429.

Bossart, K.N., Zhu, Z., Middleton, D., Klippel, J., Crameri, G., Bingham, J., nMcEachern, J.A., Green, D., Hancock, T.J., Dimitrov, D.S., Wang, L.-F. and Broder, C.C. (2009) Human monoclonal antibody protects from lethal disease caused by Nipah virus. PLoS Path. 5: 1-11

Marsh, G.A., de Jong, C., Barr, J.A., Tachedjian, M., Smith, C., Middleton, D., Yu, M., Todd, S., Foord, A.J., Haring, V., Payne, J., Robinson, R., Broz, I., Crameri, G., Field, H.E. and Wang, L.-F. (2012) Cedar virus: a novel henipavirus isolated from Australian bats. PLoS Path. 8(8): e1002836.

Mahalingam, S., Herrero, L.J., Playford, G., Spann, K., Herring, B., Rolph, R., Middleton, D., McCall, B., Field, H. and Wang, L.-F. (2012) Hendra virus: an emerging paramyxovirus in Australia. Lancet Infectious Diseases 12: 799-807.

Zhang, G., Cowled, C., Shi, Z., Huang, Z., Bishop-Lilly, K.A., Fang, X., Wynne, J.W., Xiong, Z., Baker, M.L., Zhao, W., Tachedjian, M., Zhu, Y., Zhou, P., Jiang, X., Ng, J., Yang, L., Wu, L., Xiao, J., Feng, Y., Chen, Y., Sun, X., Zhang, Y., Marsh, G.A., Crameri, G., Broder, C.C., Frey, K.G., Wang, L.-F. and Wang, J. (2013) Comparative Analysis of Bat Genomes Provides Insight into the Evolution of Flight and Immunity. Science 339: 456-460.