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

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

In a statement, Caltech President Thomas Rosenbaum said Baltimore’s “contributions as a virologist, discerning fundamental mechanisms and applying those insights to immunology, to cancer, to AIDS, have transformed biology and medicine.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 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

“We are in a terrible situation and going into a worse situation,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

From Salon • Dec. 24, 2024

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