Dr Zubair Akhtar is an infectious disease epidemiologist working as a research officer and a PhD candidate at the Biosecurity Program within the Kirby Institute of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, who has dedicated nearly a decade to advancing the understanding and management of infectious diseases.
His journey began at the Programme for Emerging Infections of the Infectious Diseases Division at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). This initial experience laid the foundation for his subsequent impactful roles in the field.
With a focus on influenza and SARS-CoV-2, Dr. Akhtar has contributed to epidemiological studies and clinical trials. Since 2016, he has been the co-principal investigator in designing and implementing the most significant and enduring influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in the South-East Asia region. In addition to his considerable contributions to influenza research, Dr. Akhtar served as the national principal investigator of a multicounty influenza vaccine clinical trial from 2019 to 2020. Under his leadership, Bangladesh played a pivotal role in evaluating the vaccine's benefits in cardiovascular diseases, with the impact leading to the revision of the European Society of Cardiology clinical guidelines on managing patients with acute coronary syndromes.
He now focuses on PhD research to dive deeper into understanding influenza in cardiovascular patients of NSW, Australia and other countries, together with investigating SARS-CoV-2 infection in cardiovascular patients in Bangladesh.