Prof Anavaj Sakuntabhai, MD, PhD is a medical doctor from Thailand. After his PhD on human molecular genetics at The Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, in 2000, he joined the Institut Pasteur to develop a program on genetics of infectious diseases. He created the research unit of Functional Genetics of Infectious Diseases at Institut Pasteur in 2010 focusing on genetic susceptibility to dengue infection. He received Prix Dusquense in 2016 and i-Lab Grand Prix award from the French national challenge of innovation organized by the French Ministry of research in 2020 for development of new pentavalent dengue and Zika T cell vaccine. He coordinated European FP7 project on Dengue Framework for Resisting Epidemics in Europe (DENFREE). He is involved in investigating two recent global outbreaks of infectious diseases, Ebola and Zika. Currently, he is a coordinator of the Pasteur International Center for Research on Emerging Infectious Diseases (PICREID) – supported by the NIH. The project is implemented in West, Central Africa and South-East Asia, linking large observational multicenter cohort studies with basic scientific research and leading to increased preparedness for new epidemic threats in the region. Recently, he was appointed as the director of Institut Pasteur Japan office to establish transdisciplinary network on Emerging Infectious Diseases between Japan, France and countries in the Indo-Pacific region.