Dr Arvind Varsani- Short stories on DNA viruses from the tropics to polar regions: ecology&evolution

Dr. Arvind Varsani is an Associate Professor in the School of Life Sciences at ASU.

He works across ecosystems from plants to animals and from the tropics to polar regions. His research uses a combination of traditional virology, microscopy (including transmission electron microscopy), molecular and cellular biology techniques in conjunction with modern sequencing techniques, synthetic biology and bioinformatics to characterise viruses and understand their dynamics.

Studies over the last decade have shown that viruses are the most common and abundant entities on earth, yet very little is known about their evolutionary dynamics and roles in ecosystems. Our current knowledge of viruses is heavily biased to those that cause disease in humans, animals and plants. This knowledge equates to a very small portion of the viral diversity on the planet and hence a very minute fraction of the virome associated with humans, animals and plants. Over the last decade Arvind Varsani and his collaborators have focused on addressing diversity, demographics and evolutionary dynamics of viral communities in various ecosystems.