Webster holds the Rose Marie Thomas Chair in Virology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
In December 2002, he was presented with the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Infectious Diseases Research.
[citation needed] Webster's major discoveries relating to influenza include the likelihood that avians were most likely the culprit in other flu outbreaks.
[2] Webster's work with the avian flu began after a beach walk with fellow researcher Graeme Laver, on which the men noticed a large number of dead birds along the shoreline.
Ducks, while capable of catching and transmitting the avian flu virus through contact with chickens, seldom sicken and die from the exposure.