Dr Aaron Irving trained at the University of Queensland (Australia), Diamantina Institute (UQ Australia), Monash Institute of Medical Research (Melbourne Australia) and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School (Singapore). He established his laboratory at the Zhejiang University – University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJE) with a focus on emerging zoonotic viral infections, host-pathogen interactions and comparative immunology between humans and model organisms such as bats. This work identifies key factors from bats that may be utilized to improve the human immune response to pathogen infections. Other projects in the laboratory include novel diagnostic techniques to identify current or historical infection of wildlife and humans by zoonotic viruses, including SARS-like coronaviruses, and establishing/evaluating factors that may contribute to zoonotic potential.