Lance Jennings is Clinical Virologist to the Canterbury District Health Board, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) National Measles Laboratory, Clinical Associate Professor in the Pathology Department, University of Otago, New Zealand, Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, London and a Founding Fellow of the Science Faculty, Royal Australasian College of Pathologists.  His principal research interests include the epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of influenza and other respiratory viral infections.Dr Jennings has been instrumental in the development of influenza control strategies for New Zealand, including the introduction of free influenza vaccine, establishment of influenza awareness education (NISG) and pandemic planning. He is the current chair of the Asia Pacific Alliance for the Control of Influenza (APACI) and has held WHO short-term consultancies on measles and influenza in Asia and Europe. Dr Jennings has also been a member of WHO/Western Pacific Region Office (WPRO) Avian Influenza Outbreak Response (2004) and Expert Influenza (2005) teams in Asia. He serves on several Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture Advisory Committees, is an expert reviewer for research funding agencies, and is on the editorial board of the International Society for Influenza and other Respiratory Virus Disease (ISIRV) journal Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses. His service to virology in New Zealand and internationally was recognised in 2006 with the award of the Queens Service Order.