I am an infectious disease epidemiologist and Assistant Professor of Global Health at Duke Kunshan University China. I am the Director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases & One Health Research program. My primary research mainly focuses on veterinary public health, and emerging infectious diseases, particularly zoonotic diseases that occur at the human and animal interface. I apply an interdisciplinary One Health approach to conduct fieldwork disease surveillance and monitor virus evolution, emerging and re-emerging pathogens, zoonosis, and reverse zoonosis events at the animal-human nexus by utilizing cutting-edge epidemiological and metagenomic strategies. In addition to epidemiological research, I have a strong passion for global health and scientific research capacity building. This includes student training, the development of new collaborative international research networks, and laboratory infrastructure to advance diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. As a dedicated scholar and researcher, my works have been published in several prestigious journals and conferences. You’ll find an overview of my recent publications here. I would seek to establish an animal laboratory setup and research program at Duke Kunshan University, China with the following potential research emphases and intentions: 1) an interdisciplinary One Health approach to conduct fieldwork disease surveillance and bring Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies at Duke Kunshan University 2) to establish laboratory animal models for research, student training, and capacity building; 3) to develop laboratory animal infection models to mimic natural/field infections to study host-pathogen interactions; and 4) to advance diagnostic approaches for the surveillance of zoonotic pathogens. These research areas can not only lead to high-quality research outputs but can also serve as important training topics for undergraduate students at Duke Kunshan University.
I am based at Duke Kunshan University, an innovative liberal arts university located close to Shanghai. Duke Kunshan University is a Sino-American partnership of Duke University, Wuhan University, and Kunshan City in Jiangsu province to create a world-class university offering a range of academic programs for students from China and throughout the world. A nonprofit, joint-venture institution, Duke Kunshan University was granted accreditation approval by China’s Ministry of Education in September 2013.
At Duke Kunshan University, I teach courses on Emerging infectious diseases, the evolution of infectious diseases, the evolution of health and disease, and microbial ecology. I have also taught an interdisciplinary mini-term course on “Global Health Laboratory Techniques”.
I earned a Ph.D. in the discipline of pathology and virology (2017) from the National Veterinary School of Toulouse, France, and worked with renowned French pathologist Maxence Delverdier and virologist Mariette Ducatez. I earned a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Veterinary Pathology (2011) and a graduation in Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) (2008) from the University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore. Before academia, I worked as a Postdoctoral research fellow (2018-2019) at Istanbul University Turkey, and Duke Kunshan University China (2020-2021) and worked with Gregory Charles Gray and Benjamin Anderson.
Outside of work, I enjoy playing cricket, hiking, cycling, and running.
About me
Dr. Sajid Umar Assistant Professor of Global Health
Director of Emerging Infectious Diseases & One Health Research Program