Quick Facts
Biography
Yi Guan is a Chinese virologist who, in 2014, was ranked as 11th in the world by Thomson Reuters (now known as Clarivate Analytics) among global researchers in the field of microbiology. His research on the viral respiratory disease SARS allowed the Chinese government to successfully avert the 2004 outbreak of this disease. He is the current Director (China affairs) of the State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases University of Hong Kong. In early 2017, Guan warned that the H7N9 influenza virus "poses the greatest threat to humanity than any other in the past 100 years."
Education
Guan received his MD degree from the Medical College of Nanchang University (also known as Jiangxi Medical College), his advanced medical degree from Peking Union Medical College (also known as Beijing Union Medical College), and his PhD from the University of Hong Kong.
Career
Focusing his research on influenza viruses throughout his career, Professor Guan has identified all the major precursors and transmission pathways of the H5N1 variant that circulates in Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa and has provided most of the World Health Organization recommended pre-pandemic H5N1 vaccines strains.
Guan has, also, initiated the systematic study of H9N2 viruses, which, along with H5 viruses that are now regarded as the most likely novel influenza subtypes to cause a pandemic.
Guan has defined the role of domestic ducks in harboring and spreading influenza viruses and made major contributions in recognizing the emergence, evolutionary history and development of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus and revealed the genesis, infection source, evolutionary pathway and possible transmission route of the 2017 emerging H7N9 influenza virus.
Appearances in popular media
In 2005, Time featured Guan as one of its 18 "Global Health Hero's", and in 2006, named him an "Asian Hero" for his influenza virus research work.
Academic publications
Guan's publication record contained in the United States National Institutes of Health PubMed database shows his having over 280 peer-reviewed articles with over 26,000 citations and an h-index of 79.