Bert Achong Explained

Bert Geoffrey Achong
Birth Date:6 December 1928
Birth Place:Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago
Death Date:20 November 1996 (aged 67)
Death Place:Hampstead, England
Known For:Epstein–Barr virus
Occupation:Scientist

Bert Geoffrey Achong (6 December 1928 – 20 November 1996) was a Trinidadian-born pathologistknown for co-discovering the Epstein–Barr virus through use of electron microscopy.

Career

Achong was born in Trinidad and Tobago and was of Chinese descent.[1] After excelling in school in Trinidad and Tobago, he was awarded the Jerningham Gold Medal and the Colonial Scholarship to study in Europe.[2]

In 1963, he joined Michael Anthony Epstein's research group at Middlesex Hospital. He moved with Epstein to the Department of Pathology at University of Bristol in 1968, where he was a popular lecturer on cellular pathology until his retirement in 1985.[3] He died of a brain tumour in 1996.

Epstein–Barr virus

Achong, Anthony Epstein and Yvonne Barr discovered the first example of a human cancer-causing virus.[4] They published the discovery of the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) in The Lancet 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.[5] [6]

Foamy virus

In 1971 Achong made another major discovery, the human foamy virus. This was proved to be the first example of a retrovirus naturally infecting humans.[7]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Our Chinese contribution to science . The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper . 2012-10-10 . 2013-02-12.
  2. 1997-01-11. Obituary of Bert Geoffrey Achong. BMJ. en. 314. 7074. 150. 10.1136/bmj.314.7074.150. 0959-8138.
  3. Book: Cancer Virus: The Story of Epstein-Barr Virus. Crawford. Dorothy H.. Rickinson. Alan. Johannessen. Ingólfur. 2014-02-01. OUP Oxford. 9780199653119. en.
  4. Epstein. Anthony. 2012-03-01. Burkitt lymphoma and the discovery of Epstein–Barr virus. British Journal of Haematology. 156. 6. 777–779. 10.1111/j.1365-2141.2011.09008.x. 22233499. 27417152 . 1365-2141.
  5. 10.1016/S0140-6736(64)91524-7 . Virus Particles in Cultured Lymphoblasts from Burkitt's Lymphoma . 1964 . Epstein . M.A . Achong . B.G . Barr . Y.M . The Lancet . 283 . 7335 . 702–3 . 14107961.
  6. 10.1084/jem.121.5.761 . Morphological and Biological Studies on a Virus in Cultured Lymphoblasts from Burkitt's Lymphoma . 1965 . Epstein . M. A. . Journal of Experimental Medicine . 121 . 5 . 761–70 . 14278230 . Henle . G . Achong . BG . Barr . YM . 2138004.
  7. Achong . B. G. . Mansell . P. W. A. . Epstein . M. A. . Clifford . P. . 1971 . An unusual virus in cultures from a human nasopharyngeal carcinoma. . . 46 . 299–307 . 1460-2105 . 4329955.