Natkunam Ketheesan is a Professor in Biomedical Science (Infection & Immunity) at the University of New England, Australia. Before joining UNE in 2018, he held combined academic teaching and research positions at universities of Leeds, Western Australia, Queensland and at James Cook University. Ketheesan’s research focus is on investigating host-pathogen interactions in clinically relavent bacterial infections. The laboratory models characterised by his team, have enabled the determination of early events that lead to Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) and Poststreptococcal Glomerulonephritis (PSGN) providing a platform for potential development of intervention strategies.