Virologist
Career Research
Should I Become a Virologist?
Virologists study viruses that affect humans, animals, insects, bacteria, fungi, and plants in community, clinical, agricultural, and natural environments. Virologists typically work in research or teaching, and many split their time between these two activities. Virologists may also work as science writers or pursue additional training to work in pharmaceutical business or law. Researchers may be employed by universities, government agencies, or health organizations. Some virologists work in industry research and develop new medications.
Medical doctors focusing on virology may carry out clinical research or work with patients afflicted with viruses. Virology researchers work under a broad range of issues including viral pathology, viral oncology, emerging viruses, virotherapy, viral replication, virus-cell interactions, and plant virology.
Because virologists work with infectious microorganisms, there is a small risk of illness, but preventative measures minimize that risk. Virologists work in office and laboratory settings, though a few may take samples in the field. Virologists, like other microbiologists, work on a full-time basis and usually collaborate with other scientists.
Career Requirements
Degree Level
M.D. and/or Ph.D. with postdoctoral training
Degree Field
Virology, molecular virology, viral oncology, immunology
Licensure
Virologists with M.D. degrees must earn medical licenses
Experience
3-5 years postdoctoral research experience
Key Skills
Observation, communication, analysis, critical thinking, reasoning, problem solving, perseverance, scientific and medical software, which may include: BD Biosciences CellQuest, Protein Explorer, Computer Service & Support CLS-2000 Laboratory System, Orchard Software Orchard Harvest LIS, TreeView, and Verity Software House ModFit LT, laboratory equipment and tools, which may include: air samplers or collectors, infrared spectrometers, analyzing equipment, and sterilizing equipment
Salary
$187,199 was the median for various types of physicians and surgeons; $67,790 was the median for microbiologists
Virus structure and classification:
Viroids
are among the smallest infectious pathogens known, larger only than prions, which are misfolded proteins. Viroids consist solely of short strands of circular, single-stranded RNA without protein coats. They are mostly plant pathogens, some of which are of economic importance. Viroid genomes are extremely small in size, ranging from 246 to 467 nucleobases. In comparison, the genome of the smallest known viruses capable of causing an infection by themselves are around 2,000 nucleobases in size. The human pathogen hepatitis D virus is a defective RNA virus similar to viroids.
Viroids, the first known representatives of a new domain of "sub-viral pathogens", were discovered, initially characterized, and named by Theodor Otto Diener, plant pathologist at the U.S Department of Agriculture's Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland, in 1971. The first viroid to be identified was Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd). Some 33 species have been identified.
Viroids do not code for any protein.
Viroid's replication mechanism uses RNA polymerase II, a host cell enzyme normally associated with synthesis of messenger RNA from DNA, which instead catalyzes "rolling circle" synthesis of new RNA using the viroid's RNA as a template. Some viroids are ribozymes, having catalytic properties which allow self-cleavage and ligation of unit-size genomes from larger replication intermediates.satellite
is a subviral agent composed of nucleic acid that depends on the co-infection of a host cell with a helper or master virus for its replication. When a satellite encodes the coat protein in which its nucleic acid is encapsidated it is referred to as a satellite virus. A satellite virus of mamavirus that inhibits the replication of its host has been termed avirophage. However, the usage of this term remains controversial due to the lack of fundamental differences between virophages and classical satellite viruses.
The genomes of satellites range upward from 359 nucleotides in length for Satellite Tobacco Ringspot Virus RNA (STobRV).
Satellite viral particles should not be confused with satellite DNA.
prion
is an infectious agent thought to be the cause of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). It is composed entirely of protein material, called PrP (short for prion protein), that can fold in multiple, structurally distinct ways, at least one of which is transmissible to other prion proteins, leading to disease that is similar to viral infection. The word prion, coined in 1982 by Stanley B. Prusiner, is a portmanteau derived from protein and infection, hence prion, and is short for "proteinaceous infectious particle", in reference to its ability to self-propagate and transmit its conformation to other proteins.
Prions were initially identified as the causative agent in animal TSEs such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)—known popularly as "mad cow disease"—andscrapie in sheep. Human prion diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and its variant (vCJD), Gerstmann–Sträussler–Scheinker syndrome, fatal familial insomnia, and kuru. A 2015 study concluded that multiple system atrophy (MSA), a rare human neurodegenerative disease, is caused by a misfolded version of a protein called alpha-synuclein, and is therefore also classifiable as a prion disease. Several yeast proteins have been identified as having prionogenic properties as well.
A protein as a standalone infectious agent stands in contrast to all other known infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, all of which containnucleic acids (DNA, RNA, or both). For this reason, a minority of researchers still consider the prion/TSE hypothesis unproven. All known prion diseases in mammalsaffect the structure of the brain or other neural tissue; all are currently untreatable and universally fatal.
Frequently asked question about Training in Virology
What courses should be taken?
The courses to be taken depend in great part on the undergraduate major and graduate course requirements. These can be quite variable. As a general rule, the following courses should be completed:
Undergraduate: Biology, Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics (calculus and advanced algebra), and some electives (Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Immunology) along with English, History, and a language.
Graduate: Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Virology, Immunology, and Structural Biology. The majority of time in graduate school should be spent conducting research.
These, of course, are general recommendations. There may be overlap in some subject areas between the undergraduate and graduate phases, with greater depth in the latter. Additional coverage of core areas can be advantageous.
Harvard University
Website: http://www.harvard.edu/
Location: Massachusetts, United States