virologist

American  

[vahy-rol-uh-jist, vi-] / vaɪˈrɒl ə dʒɪst, vɪ- /

noun

1. a medical researcher or scientist who studies viruses and the diseases caused by them.

   She worked for several years as a virologist on the dengue fever vaccine development team, devising ways to weaken the virus so it could be incorporated into a vaccine.

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Etymology

Origin of virologist

virolog(y) ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

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Explanation

A virologist is a scientist who studies infectious diseases. Contagious viruses like measles, mumps, the flu, and coronavirus are the particular focus of a virologist. After 19th-century scientists found that some diseases were caused by viruses, rather than bacteria or fungi, the very first virologists began examining these newly-discovered microorganisms. Today there are many advanced techniques and tools for understanding viruses and the infections they produce in humans. Virologist is from virus, originally defined as "poisonous substance," and its Latin root, which means "poison, sap of plants, or slimy liquid."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

virologist

Symptoms develop more slowly, allowing infected patients to remain well enough to move around and spread the virus before becoming severely ill, according to Corri Levine, a virologist at the University of Texas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

"It's an outbreak that will spread very rapidly, all the more so because it has broken out in a densely populated province," virologist Jean-Jacques Muyembe told AFP.

From Barron's ● May 18, 2026

Prof Stephen Griffin, a virologist from the University of Leeds, said Covid is "still a public health concern" and that vaccines offer the "best protection".

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026

“Viruses and bacteria that were under control are being set free on our most vulnerable,” said Dr. James Alwine, a virologist and member of the nonprofit advocacy group Defend Public Health.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026

In the 1960s and 1970s Francis L. Black, a virologist at Yale, conducted safety and efficacy tests among South American Indians of a new, improved measles vaccine.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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