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. )

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

The German native built a career in the U.S. as a brilliant virologist with significant discoveries to his credit and long had been revered among his colleagues.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2026

Seema Lakdawala, a virologist at Atlanta-based Emory University, adds another caveat: this simulation model "assumes a very efficient transmission of influenza viruses".

From BBC • Dec. 17, 2025

A virologist has said mosquito-borne diseases are "likely" to increase in range after West Nile virus was detected in the UK for the first time.

From BBC • May 25, 2025

"This is bad news," Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

From Salon • Jan. 29, 2025

Another C.D.C. doctor who worked on the unknown virus was Frederick A. Murphy, a virologist who had helped to identify Marburg virus.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston