Thusitha Karunarathna

Thusitha Karunarathna is a first year PhD student at the Avian Influenza Group at The Pirbright Institute, collaborating with the Royal Veterinary College, University of London.

Thusitha won his PhD Scholarship funding from the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission to investigate the molecular determinants critical for pathogenesis, transmission and host-range of H5Nx avian influenza viruses (AIVs) prevalent in domestic and wild birds. The H5Nx AIV viruses cause variable disease to different avian species. His studies will uncover these virus phenotypic differences and inform strain-specific disease risks to poultry, vaccine development against closely and distantly related AIVs across the different avian hosts, as well as determine the zoonotic risk posed by circulating H5Nx AIVs.