Dr Leon Caly is a Senior Medical Scientist within the Virus Identification Laboratory of the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL). He is currently utilising next generation sequencing (NGS) approaches to identify and classify novel pathogens within “at risk” populations, analysing viral disease trends retrospectively within discreet populations within Australia, populations and exploring the effectiveness of current fumigation strategies with regards to viral inactivation. Leon is actively engaged in expanding the breadth and scope of research programs within VIDRL (including the high containment facility) and engaging with external stakeholders in numerous collaborative projects. Leon completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Hons) and PhD at Monash University in biochemistry, focusing on the nuclear trafficking of the HIV genome within infected cells. His most recent work analysed the impact of respiratory viruses on the host cell gene expression. Leon has 8 years’ diagnostics experience within the Microbiology department of Gribbles Pathology (now Australian Clinical Labs).