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    MedSoc Talk
    Aug 07, 2020
      ·  Edited: Oct 18, 2020

    June Almeida: Virologist Who Discovered the First Coronavirus

    in Women in Medicine

    Author: Anuhya Banerjee


    There have been many virology studies in the history of medicine, but none quite as relevant to

    the present-day as Scientist June Almeida’s findings. While she may have previously been a

    hidden pioneer of virus imaging, her contributions are highlighted in her pivotal identification of

    the first human coronavirus. Her revolutionary findings and research in 1965 are what paved the

    way for our knowledge of the current pandemic and the fight to understand this novel

    coronavirus.


    Born on October 5, 1930, June Hart had bright hopes at a young age to eventually attend

    university and lead a life of knowledge. However, money problems soon forced 16-year-old Hart

    to drop out of school. She worked at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary as a lab technician, which is

    where she learned many of her research skills in histopathology by analyzing tissue samples with

    microscopes. In 1954 with her husband, Enriques Almeida, the couple immigrated to Canada

    where June Almeida worked at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto. It was there that she

    finally had gained recognition for her renowned research on virus structures with electron

    microscopes.


    Electron Microscope Advancements


    Without June’s work during the 20th century, the field of virology would have had limited

    advancements during that time period. She spent much of her time in Toronto focused on

    microscopic particles where beams of electrons were blasted at viral specimens. This allowed

    scientists to get detailed images with higher magnification and resolution of their samples, due to

    the fact that electrons have a shorter wavelength than light (Scanning Electron Microscopy).

    There are difficulties that June came across with the electron microscope, such as discerning the

    virus from cells or various blobs. Despite this feat, she soon found an unprecedented solution to

    this problem through the use of antibodies, which would behave in a manner to aggregate and

    surround the virus, thus identifying the presence of a specimen. Her original technique called

    Immune Electron Microscopy (IEM) was an impressive scientific conclusion that allowed her to

    be the first scientist to produce a visualization of the rubella virus and study numerous viruses.


    Identifying the First Human Coronavirus


    After her accomplishments with IEM, June went back to London to work at St. Thomas's

    Hospital Medical School in 1964 to continue research on common colds. This is where she

    became familiar with B814, a sample collected from Dr. David Tyrrell who directed the

    Common Cold Research Team in Salisbury. His team could not identify a specific nasal swab

    from a schoolboy and sent the sample to Almeida in hopes to learn more about the virus that

    could not grow in a cultivated environment. This is where June had discovered the qualities of

    the structure we know as coronavirus, named after the halo “crown” appearance of the virus.

    However, the path leading up to the discovery was anything but promising, as Dr. Tyrrell stated

    in his book that “We were not too hopeful but felt it was worth a try” (Cold Wars: The Fight

    Against the Common Cold). What was extraordinary about June Almeida’s identification was

    that she had observed a similar virus in chickens/mice, which is why she did not write the virus

    off as “influenza-like” upon looking at the imaging. Previously, in fact, two of her research

    papers on the (corona)virus in animals had been rejected by reviewers on the basis that the

    imaging was simply a poor visualizer of influenza. With the sample sent by Dr. Tyrrell, it

    became certain that they had discovered the emerging of a new virus. Even in June Almeida’s death in 2007, her research and discoveries are more relevant than ever in our own fight against the virus that she studied. Her work goes unnoticed no longer in the wake of our struggles with the coronavirus as we honor her as none other than a female pioneer, hero, and ultimately an advancing virologist dedicated to medicine!


    Sources

    https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-05-07/meet-june-almeida-scottish-virologist-who-first-

    identified-coronavirus

    https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/04/june-almeida-discovered-coronaviruses-

    decades-ago-little-recognition/

    https://www.nanoscience.com/techniques/scanning-electron-microscopy/

    https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus-history

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440895/

    1 comment
    mackenzie.heidkamp1
    Oct 13, 2020

    I really enjoyed that you went into detail talking about the science behind her research! very interesting :)

    1 comments
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