Date: 25 February 2026 (Wednesday)
Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Venue: Mrs Chen Yang Foo Oi Telemedicine Centre, 2/F, William M.W. Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road
Host: Professor Michael Hӓusser

Dr. Siddharth Balachandran obtained his B.S. in Chemistry from Angelo State University, Texas, USA, in 1995, and his Ph.D. in Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis from Emory University, Georgia, USA, in 2001. He carried out his post-doctoral research with Glen Barber at the University of Miami, Florida, USA, following which he was appointed an Assistant Professor on the tenure track at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, in Philadelphia, USA. At Fox Chase, he was promoted to Associate Professor, with tenure, in 2014, and then to Full Professor in 2018. He is currently the Director of the Center for Immunology at Fox Chase, and holds Adjunct Professorships at Temple and Drexel Universities. His research into the mechanisms of virus-activated cell death has been published in top-tier destinations, including Cell and Nature. He has trained several Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Associates, all of whom have gone on to successful careers in Academia, Industry, or Government. He has taught both introductory and advanced coursework in Immunology, Cell Biology, and Science Writing. He holds multiple patents in the areas of therapeutic interventions for viral, inflammatory, and malignant disease. He is co-founder of Vaayu Therapeutics and sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of Ascend Biopharmaceuticals.

Many viruses, including influenza viruses, will kill the cells they infect. This talk will outline the mechanisms by which such cell death occurs. It will also describe our insights into how the death of the infected cell contributes to both viral clearance and pathogenesis, and how virus-host co-evolution dictates these outcomes. Finally, it will explore the therapeutic ramifications of cell death in infectious disease, inflammation, and cancer.

All are welcome.