Seema S. Lakdawala, PhD

The Lakdawala lab studies emerging respiratory virus pandemic threats using influenza viruses as a model system. Specifically we are interested in  person-to-person transmission of respiratory viruses and the diversity constraints of viruses in natural hosts. Dr. Lakdawala started an independent laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2015 studying influenza virus transmission, pathogenesis, and assembly. The Lakdawala Lab has published multiple papers on the persistence of influenza viruses in aerosols and droplets and demonstrated that viruses are stable for long periods of time in small aerosols and droplets in the presence of respiratory mucus. Their research has been featured in the popular press on NPR, Gizmodo, and This Week in Virology. In addition, Dr. Lakdawala and her team recently demonstrated that pre-existing immunity provides a robust barrier to airborne transmission of influenza viruses that likely impacts the spread of seasonal viruses. Dr. Lakdawala recently co-authored two pieces in Science on animal models to study SARS-CoV-2 transmission and a review on airborne transmission of respiratory viruses. She is a world leader on airborne transmission of respiratory viruses and has been interviewed extensively on this topic in NY Times, Washington Post, Science, USA Today, CNN, and BBC to name a few.