Dr. Isaac Shawa holds a Ph.D.; he was granted a studentship from the University of Plymouth in collaboration with Imperial College London in the United Kingdom. He was a recipient of a prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies at the University of Liverpool in the U.K. as a result of a successful completion of B.Sc. studies in South Africa. Dr. Shawa is a virologist and broadly interested in host-viral interactions, in understanding the viral pathogenesis and their elicited immune responses. His research interests are shaped by the emerging trend towards the multi-disciplinary approach that can facilitate understanding of host immune responses to various micro-organisms. His Ph.D. research mainly focused on the different strategies to identify characteristics of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) resistance; and the possible immunological mechanisms that protect the HCV exposed uninfected population.