Prof Leo Poon received his doctoral training in Sir William Dunn School of Pathology in University of Oxford (1996-1999). After his graduation, he returned to Hong Kong and worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1999-2001). He joined The University of Hong Kong in 2001. Prof Poon has strong interests that are related to emerging viruses, ranging from studying basic biology of RNA viruses to developing molecular diagnostic tools for infectious diseases. His work primarily focuses on influenza virus and coronavirus. He published over 170 peer-reviewed articles, and he is an ISI top 1 % most cited scientist (Total number of citations: 14945; H-index: 59). He was named as one of the "Highly Cited Researchers" in 2015 and 2016 by Thomson Reuters. He was awarded the prestigious Senior Research Fellowship by the Croucher Foundation in 2017. In 2003, Prof Poon involved in the discovery of a novel coronavirus as the aetiological cause of SARS. He is one of the firsts who decoded the first SARS coronavirus sequence. These findings allowed him to develop several useful molecular tests for the diagnosis of SARS. The identification of SARS coronavirus in humans and animals also prompted him to hunt for novel viruses in wildlife and this leaded to the discovery of the first and many others coronaviruses in bats. Prof Poon involves in influenza research for over 20 years. He studied the replication and pathogenesis of this virus. He developed several molecular tests for emerging avian influenza viruses (e.g. H5N1, pandemic H1N1/2009 and H7N9). In 2009, he played an active role in the H1N1 pandemic and identified the first reassortant of pandemic H1N1/2009 virus in pigs. Currently, he focuses on researching the viral replication and vaccinology of influenza virus. Prof Poon serves as a virology expert in several international organizations. He is a committee member in the Coronavirus Study Group under the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (2006-now) and he is also an expert in the Influenza Molecular Diagnosis Working Group, World Health Organization (2009-now). He previously served as an ad hoc consultant in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2013-2014) and in the World Organization for Animal Health (2014) for MERS. He is an editor Virus Evolution (2014-now).