Professor Radha Kanta Ratho (MD, Dip. N.B., FIVS, FAMS, ESCMID Fellow) is a renowned virologist and academic currently serving as Dean (Academics) and Professor & Head of the Department of Virology at PGIMER, Chandigarh, and President of the Indian Virological Society. He leads several national health initiatives, including the Regional Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (DHR/ICMR), the Apex Referral Lab for Advanced Diagnosis of Dengue, JE, and Chikungunya (NVBDCP), the ILI Network Centre (NCDC), the National BSL-3 Network (NOHM), the National One Health Surveillance Centre (NOHPPCZ), the WHO National Laboratory for Measles & Rubella, and the EQAS program for Dengue (ICMR). His accolades include fellowships from ESCMID (2017), IVS (2011), and NAMS (2011), along with the Novartis Vaccine Award (ISID, Boston, 2008) and several oration awards, including the K.S. Bhargava Oration (2022), IFI Oration (2020), and Dr. S.C. Aggarwal Oration (2020). With over 170 scientific publications, Prof. Ratho has also been a visiting scientist at the University of Malaya, Institut Pasteur, and Kasetsart University, and has served as a trusted reviewer for ISID and ESCMID.