Dr Alonso obtained her PhD degree in Microbiology and Molecular Biology from the University Claude Bernard Lyon I (France), followed by two post-doctoral trainings at Pasteur Institute of Lille (France) and Cornell University (NY, USA). In 2004, she moved to Singapore and established her lab at the National University of Singapore, Department of Microbiology. Dr Alonso’s research focuses on studying viral pathogenesis (specifically Enterovirus-A71 (HFMD) and Dengue virus), through the identification of viral determinants and host factors that drive viral fitness and virulence, and using unique symptomatic animal models that her lab has developed. Dr Alonso has also pursued her long-standing interest in vaccine, and in collaboration with Monash University, she has been developing a promising, versatile dendritic cell targeting vaccine platform.