Angela Rasmussen

Dr. Angela Rasmussen, PhD is a Principal Research Scientist and virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research focuses on the role of the host in virus susceptibility and pathogenesis, with a particular interest in emerging viruses that are or have the potential to be major threats to global health, such as avian influenza virus, dengue virus, Ebola virus, mpox (monkeypox) virus, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2. Her work combines classical experimental virology and animal models with systems biology approaches to study the global host response to infection and how that contributes to pathogenesis or protection from emerging viruses. Dr. Rasmussen’s lab focuses on a One Health approach prioritizing both animal and human health in the context of emerging zoonotic viruses.

Dr. Rasmussen graduated from Smith College with a BA in Biological Sciences (2000) and received a MA (2005), MPhil (2006), and PhD (2009) in Microbiology and Immunology from Columbia University, where she studied the basis for rodent adaptation of human rhinovirus in the context of developing a mouse model of pathogenesis. She did her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington on how the host response to hepatitis C virus infection enables viral persistence and contributes to liver disease progression. Since 2012, her research focus has been on the role of the host in determining susceptibility and pathogenicity to emerging viruses across a wide variety of host species, coupling experimental pathogenesis models with omics technologies and AI-based predictive classification for susceptibility, cross-species transmission, and disease outcomes. She previously held faculty positions in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Washington and the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, as well as an affiliation with the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security. Dr. Rasmussen also holds faculty appointments in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology at the University of Saskatchewan and in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University. She currently serves in editorial roles at mSphere and Vaccine, as well as sitting on the editorial boards of Cell Reports and npj Viruses.

Dr. Rasmussen is a prolific science communicator in both the mainstream press and social media and is intently focused on providing accurate and accessible information to the public and policymakers. She is an outspoken advocate for vaccination as a cornerstone of public health and pandemic prevention and preparedness. In addition, she is committed to advancing policy and regulation of high consequence pathogen research to maximize benefits to global health while minimizing risk by adhering to the highest standards of biosafety and biosecurity. She believes strongly that biosecurity and global health must be collaborative international efforts and is eager to extend this outreach and advocacy work both in Canada and abroad.