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

In 1956 he began working with Mikhail Chumakov, a prominent Soviet virologist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 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

Without that information, said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Canada.”we’re flying blind.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 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