Benjamin Cowling, Professor, WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong
Prof Cowling is currently a Professor in the WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control at the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong, and a member of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at Harvard School of Public Health. He is a consultant for the World Health Organisation and serves on the editorial boards of Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, PLoS ONE and PLoS Currents: Outbreaks. In 2015 he was awarded a Croucher Senior Research Fellowship for his work on influenza virus epidemiology.
Prof Cowling conducts research into the epidemiology of influenza and other respiratory viruses. His research team has characterized how easily seasonal and pandemic influenza viruses can spread in households, and the measures which can reduce transmission such as face masks and improved hand hygiene. His recent research has focused on the effectiveness of influenza vaccines and the complex transmission dynamics of respiratory viruses. He has authored more than 270 peer-reviewed publications.