Gavin James Smith

Prof Smith’s research integrates ideas from a number of scientific fields, including evolutionary genetics, virology, ecology, and infectious disease epidemiology. He conducts human and animal disease surveillance, virus isolation and characterisation (genetic and phenotypic), then conducts large-scale analyses to generate hypotheses that are tested in the laboratory using tissue culture and animal models.

Prof Smith is primarily interested in the roles played by mutation, natural selection, recombination/reassortment and host immune response on virus diversity within an individual, during transmission within a population and during inter-species transmission between hosts. While Prof Smith works mostly on influenza, he also studies a wide range of respiratory and enteric viruses. His research programme is directed at efforts to better understand viral disease ecosystems in Asia, specifically the animal-human interface, to inform and enhance disease control.

In the context of COVID-19, Prof Smith has been engaged in research on genetic changes in the SARS-COV-2 virus and their potential implications for the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Education

• PhD The University of Hong Kong (1998 — 2003)
• Bachelor of Science (Hons) The University of Melbourne (1993 — 1996)

Publications

Linster M, Mah MG, Low DHW, Yan Z, Jayakumar J, Samsudin F, Wong FY, Bond PJ, Mendenhall IH, Su YCF, Smith GJD (2021). Spike independent replication of coronavirus in bat cells.

Li YT, Su YCF, Smith GJD (2021). H5Nx viruses emerged during the suppression of H5N1 virus populations in poultry. Microbiology Spectrum

Young BE, Fong SW, Chan YH, Mak TM, Ang LW, Anderson DE, Lee CYP, Amrun SN, Lee B, Goh YS, Su YCF, Wei WE, Kalimuddin S, Chai LYA, Pada SK, Tan SY, Sun L, Parthasarathy P, Chen YYC, Barkham T, Lin RTP, Maurer-Stroh S, Leo YS, Wang LF, Renia L, Lee VJ, Smith GJD, Lye DC, Ng LFP (2020). Effects of a major deletion in the SARS-CoV-2 genome on the severity of infection and the inflammatory response: an observational cohort study.

Su YCF, Anderson DE, Young BE, Linster M, Zhu F, Jayakumar J, Zhuang Y, Kalimuddin S, Low JGH, Tan CW, Chia WN, Mak TM, Octavia S, Chavatte JM, Lee RTC, Pada SK, Tan SY, Sun L, Yan GZ, Maurer-Stroh S, Mendenhall IH, Leo YS, Lye DC, Wang LF, Smith GJD (2020). Discovery and genomic characterization of a 382-nt deletion in ORF7b and ORF8 during the early evolution of SARS-CoV-2.

Li YT, Chen CC, Chang AM, Chao DY, Smith GJD (2020). Co-circulation of both low and highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 viruses in current poultry epidemics in Taiwan. Virus Evolution

Virk RK, Jayakumar J, Mendenhall IH, Moorthy M, Lam P, Linster M, Lim J, Lin C, Oon LEL, Lee HK, Koay ESC, Vijaykrishna D, Smith GJD, Su YCF (2020). Divergent evolutionary trajectories of influenza B viruses underlie their contemporaneous epidemic activity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA