Dr. Best received her Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Australian National University where she studied the pathogenesis of myxoma virus, a poxvirus. She conducted her postdoctoral research at Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) on the complex role of apoptosis in the replication of parvoviruses. She stayed at RML as a Research Fellow and then a Staff Scientist to investigate virus-host interactions involved in flavivirus pathogenesis. It was during this time that she developed her interests in innate immunity and the molecular mechanisms utilized by flaviviruses to evade these critical host responses. In 2009, Dr. Best established an independent laboratory as a tenure-track investigator to expand her studies on interactions between pathogenic viruses and the host immune response. In 2011, Dr. Best was awarded a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for her work on flavivirus suppression of innate immune responses. Dr. Sonja Best, a virologist at NIAID's Rocky Mountain Laboratories, won a 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.