Polly Roy is a Professor of Virology in the Department of Molecular Biology of Pathogens in the Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases. She came to the University of Oxford, CUNI, on a Senior International Fogarty Fellowship, where she built up her second virology laboratory. For the past three decades, the dominant focus of her research has been bluetongue virus (BTV). Prof. Roy has made significant contributions to the understanding of basic molecular and cellular biology, atomic structure, mechanisms of virus entry, genome synthesis, RNA packaging, capsid assembly, shedding, and cell-to-cell transmission of these viruses. Her multidisciplinary approach and comprehensive scope of research has led to the successful development of improved diagnostic assays, more effective VLP vaccines, an alternative Entry Competitive Replication Alternative (ECRA) vaccine for BTV and African horse sickness virus (AHSV), and alternative therapeutic options, in addition to the basic science advances discovered. Roy‘s work has been recognized worldwide and she has received numerous awards including: the Order of the British Empire for services to virus research, Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the President General‘s Gold Medal of the Indian Science Congress awarded by the Prime Minister of India and was a finalist for the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) „Innovator of the Year“ award.