Dr Vinod RMT Balasubramaniam graduated from Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) majoring in Biotechnology in 2007. During this period, he managed to publish several papers on plant genetic engineering, especially on genetically engineered orchids which have resistance towards fungus. In 2008, he worked as a research assistant with Associate Professor Sharifah Syed Hassan in her newly formed infectious disease laboratory in Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia.

Dr Vinod embarked on his PhD course a year later under her supervision working on the various host cellular genes infected with Avian Influenza Virus H5N1 and their protein-protein interactions with viral genes. He graduated with merit in 2014 and continued to work as a post-doctoral fellow in Associate Professor Sharifah’s laboratory before joining Professor Adolfo Garcia-Sastre's laboratory in Mount Sinai hospital New York, which is one of the leading Influenza research laboratory in the world.

Throughout his graduate studies, he has acquired the skills and training in various advanced molecular biology and proteomics techniques such as yeast two hybrid system, reverse genetics, 2D Gel electrophoresis and lentiviral based screenings to dissect cross-talks between host cellular factors and viruses. He has co-authored various publications (Cell Host Microbe, Nature Microbiology, Plos Pathogens) on various aspects of host response towards different types of viruses. After his post-doctoral experience in the “Big Apple”, he has returned to where it all started, back in Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia.

Host cellular machinery plays a vital role in the survival of viruses. The outcome of infection is determined by complex host-virus interactions with a large number of altered transcriptional and translational rates, and functional kinetics of participating genes. To date, the first-hand information on the molecular changes in the host induced by the virus to promote its replication and also the pathways triggered in the host that result in immunity and or clearance of the viral infection are still lacking. Having insights into the host's responses to viruses would help define targets for therapeutic intervention. Dr Vinod is particularly interested in crosstalks between host and viral proteins; specifically, how host cells interact and the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathophysiologic process of virus infection. Some of Dr Vinod's previous and recent ongoing work include;

• Regulations of host cellular responses (comparison with various types of Gallus gallus organs) during infection with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus.
• Protein-protein interaction between host proteins (Gallus gallus lung and brain cDNA libraries) and Influenza A nucleoprotein.
• Interaction of Aedes aegypti proteins with Dengue serotype 2 Envelope protein.
• Evasion of Zika virus from Type I Interferon response in human and mouse cells.
• Live visualization of hemagglutinin dynamics during infection by using biarsenically labeled replication competent Influenza A virus.
• Using STAT2 knockout mice as disease model for Zika virus pathogenesis.
• Role of host KSHRP protein in Influenza A lifecycle.
• Deciphering neurotropism mechanism by Flaviviruses.

• my Development PhD program : MUM MNHS: CRISPR and qRT-PCR Techniques in Microbiology (FMNHS-Malaysia MUM0118A) (10 hours)
• Student Project Cases tutor (2018)
• Young Scholars Program Co-Coordinator