Virology
Branch of biology
What is Virology
Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents. Which includes their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for reproduction, the disease they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy.
Contributors to the Study of Virology
Edward Jenner (1749-1823)
He was born in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. He had an inquisitive, brilliant mind and excelled in medicine. Jenner developed a vaccination against smallpox, a deadly virus. He is considered to be the pioneer of vaccination medical practice. Without his accomplishment, we probably wouldn't have a smallpox vaccine or how to defend ourselves from it and other viruses.
Jonas Salk (1914-1995)
He was born in New York City, on October 28, 1914. He grew up poor, but was greatly encouraged in education. Later he worked with a group that developed a vaccine against the flu. After becoming head of the Virus Research Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, he began doing research on polio. The vaccine come out for public use in 1955. With the polio vaccine, it has eradicated the virus from the USA and has prevented people from contracting it.
Robert Gallo (1937-present)
He was born in Waterbury, Connecticut on March 23, 1937. Some early scientific influences were his father and uncle. He was one of the first scientists to discover a human retrovirus, which helped fight against cancer. Gallo was also a co-discoverer of the AIDS virus. His discoveries have changed the way we help patients treat illness today.
Sources
http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Virology.aspx
http://www.biography.com/people/jonas-salk-9470147
http://www.ihv.org/about/robert_gallo.html
http://study.com/academy/lesson/edward-jenner-smallpox-vaccine-contributions-quiz.html
http://today.uconn.edu/2012/04/herbst-katz-headline-roster-of-commencement-speakers/