Bert Geoffrey Achong (6 December 1928 – 28 November 1996) was a Trinidadian-born

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in t ...

known for co-discovering the

Epstein–Barr virus The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), formally called ''Human gammaherpesvirus 4'', is one of the nine known human herpesvirus types in the herpes family, and is one of the most common viruses in humans. EBV is a double-stranded DNA virus. It is b ...

through use of electron microscopy.

Career

Achong was born in Trinidad and Tobago and was of

Chinese descent Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, ref ...

. After excelling in school in Trinidad and Tobago, he was awarded the Jerningham Gold Medal and the Colonial Scholarship to study in Europe. He moved to Europe at 18 and enrolled at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

, where he received his medical degree in 1953. In 1955 he moved to London, and worked at

Lambeth Hospital Lambeth Hospital is a mental health facility in Landor Road, South London. It was previously known as the "Landor Road hospital" and is now operated by the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and is affiliated with King's College Lo ...

in London in Clinical Pathology. In 1963, he joined Michael Anthony Epstein's research group at

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

. He moved with Epstein to the Department of Pathology at

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 1968, where he was a popular lecturer on

cellular pathology Cytopathology (from Greek , ''kytos'', "a hollow"; , ''pathos'', "fate, harm"; and , ''-logia'') is a branch of pathology that studies and diagnoses diseases on the cellular level. The discipline was founded by George Nicolas Papanicolaou in 1 ...

until his retirement in 1985. He died of a brain tumour in 1996.

Epstein–Barr virus

Achong,

Anthony Epstein Sir Michael Anthony Epstein (born 18 May 1921) is a British pathologist and academic. He is one of the discoverers of the Epstein–Barr virus, along with Yvonne Barr and Bert Achong. Personal life Epstein was born on 18 May 1921, and educ ...

and Yvonne Barr discovered the first example of a human cancer-causing

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

. They published the discovery of the

(EBV) in ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

'' on 28 March 1964. Achong's role in the discovery of EBV was to prepare and examine cultured cells prepared from Burkitt lymphoma samples by electron microscopy.

Foamy virus

In 1971 Achong made another major discovery, the

human foamy virus Human foamy virus (HFV) is a retrovirus and specifically belongs to the genus ''Spumavirus''. The spumaviruses are complex and significantly different from the other six genera of retroviruses in several ways. The foamy viruses derive their na ...

. This was proved to be the first example of a retrovirus naturally infecting humans.

Career

Epstein–Barr virus

Foamy virus

References

Further reading