Dr. Robert Webster

Rose Marie Thomas Chair, Virology Division of the Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee
Director, World Health Organization Collaborating Center on the Ecology of Influenza Viruses in Lower Animals and Birds
Professor of Excellence, University of Hong-Kong

A deadly strain of influenza is spreading in Asian wild birds and poultry. Bird flu has already killed several dozen people who were in contact with infected birds. Hundreds of thousands of chickens were slaughtered earlier this year in order to prevent further spread of the virus (H5N1). Still, experts fear that we may face a pandemic flu in the future. It could cause millions of deaths, comparable to the "Spanish Flu" ~85 years ago, which killed between 20 and 100 million people worldwide, with the highest death rates among young, healthy adults.

Dr. Webster, an internationally renowned virologist from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, spends every spring in South-east Asia assessing the potential flu risk. He also advises governments on treatment approaches in times of crises, such as the SARS outbreak last year.