Dr. Hannoun’s education includes a Ph.D. in Microbiology, which he earned in Paris, France.

Dr. Hannoun is an expert at the WHO (viral diseases). His former positions include: Director of the National Influenza Reference Centre, Professor at the Pasteur Institute, Associate Professor at the Université of Paris VII, Scientific Director of GROG systems (Groupes Régionaux d’Observation de la Grippe), Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for influenza and other respiratory viruses, Honorary Professor at the Pasteur Institute and Vice-President of ‘Société Française de Microbiologie’. He was Co-Founder and Chairman of ESWI from 1992 until 1998. He was Co-Organiser of the Conference ‘Options for the control of influenza II’ Courchevel in December 1992, the Conference “Options for the Control of Influenza IV” in Crete in 2000 and of the “First European Influenza Conference” (ESWI) in Malta in 2002. He was also Editor-in-Chief of the ‘European Journal f Epidemiology’.

Dr. Hannoun’s scientific activities are mainly oriented towards virological and epidemiological studies on arboviruses and influenza. The activity of several arboviruses so far unknown in France has been demonstrated as having occurred between 1960 and 1975, the most important being the West Nile virus. During the following years, national and international development of surveillance networks (GROG) for early detection of influenza epidemics and applications in the field of control of influenza (vaccines and antivirals) and other respiratory viral infections have been major subjects of interest, together with research programmes on virus structures. He pays special attention to infections caused by influenza virus type C and on the characteristics of this little known virus. Further studies in the field of influenza include evaluation of immunisation adjuvants, antiviral screening and tissue culture vaccines in addition to the epidemiological surveillance of respiratory viral infections.