Michael Worobey is a Canadian evolutionary biologist, and a professor and department head of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. He has done important work in the study of the evolution of

HIV-1 The subtypes of HIV include two major types, HIV type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV type 2 (HIV-2). HIV-1 is related to viruses found in chimpanzees and gorillas living in western Africa, while HIV-2 viruses are related to viruses found in the sooty mangabey, ...

, which demonstrated the extensive genetic diversity of the virus by 1960, fully refuting the contaminated polio vaccine theory as the origin of the AIDS pandemic. In May 2021, Worobey signed a letter, published in the journal ''

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

,'' calling for a thorough investigation into the

origin of COVID-19 Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been efforts by scientists, governments, and others to determine the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Most scientists agree that, as with many other pandemics in human history, the virus i ...

, including the possibility of a lab leak. Then, after thoroughly analyzing the available data, Worobey concluded that the virus most likely originated with animals sold at the

Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market The Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market (), simply known as the Huanan Seafood Market (''Huanan'' means 'South China'), was a live animal and seafood market in Jianghan District, Wuhan City, the capital of Hubei Province in Central China. T ...

and subsequently jumped to humans.

Early life and education

Worobey grew up in

Salmon Arm Salmon Arm is a city in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District of the Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia that has a population of 17,706 (2016). Salmon Arm was incorporated as a municipal district on May 15, 1905. The ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and earned his bachelors in biological sciences from Simon Fraser University. During his university years, he worked summers as a firefighter with the B.C. Wildfire Service. Winning a Rhodes Scholarship, Worobey went to the University of Oxford in 1997. Worobey joined the evolutionary biology group in the zoology department at Oxford, where he worked with Eddie Holmes and

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

, who served as his thesis advisors. Worobey also worked with Bill Hamilton to research the origin of HIV/AIDS. In January 2000, as part of the HIV investigation, Worobey traveled with Hamilton to the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. They collected samples of chimpanzee feces and urine for later analysis. Worobey injured his hand and developed a life-threatening infection while Hamilton contracted malaria. Worobey survived, but Hamilton died within weeks of their return to Oxford. Worobey continued his graduate studies in zoology at Oxford and received his doctoral degree in 2001.

References

Canadian biologists University of Arizona faculty Canadian Rhodes Scholars Alumni of University College, Oxford Simon Fraser University alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century births {{Canada-scientist-stub