Nikos Vasilakis appointed associate editor of international journal on viruses

Nikos Vasilakis, PhD, vice chair for research in the Department of Pathology at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), has been appointed associate editor of the "Invertebrate Viruses" section of Viruses, a leading international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes new research on viruses.

Vasilakis also is a fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and a nationally recognized expert in viruses like dengue and Zika that are spread by mosquitoes and other insects.

His research helps scientists understand how these viruses evolve, spread, and cause disease, and how they interact with people and other insects. His work also supports the development of vaccines and helps identify new viruses before they become major public health threats.

"Serving as an associate editor for Viruses is an opportunity to help shape the scientific dialogue around emerging and reemerging viral threats," Vasilakis said. "Invertebrate-borne viruses continue to pose significant global health risks, and I'm honored to contribute to advancing rigorous research that improves our understanding of how these pathogens evolve, spread, and impact human and animal populations."

Vasilakis earned his undergraduate and master's degrees from Hofstra University and worked for several years in the pharmaceutical industry, where he developed vaccine candidates for pediatric diseases. He obtained his doctorate in experimental pathology from UTMB and, after a brief postdoctoral position at the University of Pittsburgh, returned to UTMB, where his laboratory studies the evolution and pathogenesis of arthropod-borne viruses, as well as virus-mosquito and virus-host interactions, for which he helped develop field study sites in Southeast Asia and Central and South America.

Vasilakis now leads research exploring how insect-borne viruses behave and spread around the world. His work includes field studies in regions where these viruses are most common and advanced genetic research to discover and better understand new viruses that could impact human and animal health.