Research Projects
AI-driven approaches for virus evolution and public health applications

This project will develop and apply machine learning approaches, including large language models (LLMs), to analyse viral evolution, transmission patterns, and public health data. Potential applications include predicting antigenic changes, improving outbreak forecasting, and integrating multi-omic datasets. The project will explore novel AI-driven strategies for genomic surveillance and public health decision-making. Candidates with expertise in computational biology, bioinformatics, AI, or machine learning are ideal for this project.

Professor V Dhanasekaran, School of Public Health

Professor Vijaykrishna Dhanasekaran is a faculty member at the School of Public Health (SPH) at HKU, where he leads the Pathogen Evolution Lab. Prior to joining SPH in 2020, he held faculty positions at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore from 2010 and Monash University in Australia, as well as postdoctoral fellowship at HKU’s Department of Microbiology. Professor Dhanasekaran earned his BSc, MSc, and MPhil from the University of Madras (1994-2000), and his PhD in microbial ecology and evolution from the University of Hong Kong (2002-2005).

His research focuses on the ecology, evolution and epidemiology of rapidly evolving viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and RSV. Combining epidemiological studies across the Eurasian and Pacific regions with the integration of genomic, clinical and immunological data, his lab investigates the genetic and ecological factors driving the emergence and distribution of infectious diseases. Professor Dhanasekaran has authored over 100 research articles with more than 15,000 citations (h-index 56). His recent work on the resurgence of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 viruses earned the HKU Research Output Prize 2023-2024. He has also served on the editorial boards of Journal of Virology, Communication Medicine, PLoS Global Public Health.

Biography
HKU Scholars Hub
Lab
ORCID
veej@hku.hk

For more information or to express interest for this project, please email the supervisor or the specified contact point in the project description.  Interested candidates are advised to enclose with your email:

1. your CV,
2. a brief description of your research interest and experience, and
3. two reference letters (not required for HKUMed UG students seeking MRes[Med]/URIS projects).

Information on the research programme, funding support and admission documentations could be referenced online at the Research Postgraduate Admissions website. General admission enquiries should be directed to rpgmed@hku.hk.

HKUMed MBBS students interested in the Master of Research in Medicine (MRes[Med]) programme may visit the programme website for more information.  

HKUMed UG students interested in the Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme (URIS) may visit the scheme’s website for more information.