Thusitha Karunarathna

Thusitha 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, UK 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 and 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.

Before joining The Pirbright Institute, Thusitha worked as a lecturer at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He obtained his BVSc from Sri Lanka and MPhil degree from the University of Hong Kong.