June Almeida

June was a smart scientist. She used a very special tool. This tool helped her see tiny germs.

One day, she saw a new germ. It had a shape like a crown. Because of this, people named it the coronavirus.

She also found other tiny germs. Her work helped us learn about many sicknesses. This helps doctors keep us safe.

June's pictures are still used in books. They show us what germs look like. She was a great leader in science.

June Almeida was a famous scientist from Scotland. She was a virologist. This means she studied viruses. Viruses are tiny germs that can make people sick. June used a special tool called an electron microscope. This tool lets scientists see very small things.

In 1966, June made a big discovery. She looked at samples from people with the common cold. She saw new virus particles. These viruses had a shape like a crown. In Latin, the word for crown is "corona." Because of this shape, scientists named them coronaviruses. This group of viruses includes the one that causes COVID-19.

June also found new ways to see germs. She used a method called immune electron microscopy. This method uses antibodies to help see viruses more clearly. Her work helped doctors study many diseases. She helped study hepatitis B and HIV. Her clear pictures are still used in science books today. Many scientists use her methods to find and name new viruses.

June Almeida was a famous Scottish scientist who studied viruses. A virologist is a person who studies these tiny germs. She was a pioneer in virus imaging. This means she found new ways to take pictures of things that are too small to see with normal tools. She used a special tool called an electron microscope. This machine helps scientists see the shapes of very small particles. Her work changed how we understand the tiny world of germs.

Almeida found clever ways to make viruses easier to see. She used a method called negative staining. This technique helps show the shape of a virus clearly. She also used immune electron microscopy, or IEM. This is a way to use antibodies to clump viruses together. When they clump, they are easier to spot under the microscope. These new methods allowed her to see details that other scientists missed.

June's big discovery happened in 1966. She worked with a researcher named David Tyrrell. They were looking at samples of the common cold. At the time, scientists could not find a specific virus called B814. Almeida looked at the samples through her microscope. She saw new virus particles that looked like they had a halo. In Latin, the word for crown is "corona." Because of this crown-like shape, they named them coronaviruses.

Almeida had a very busy and important career. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1930. She worked at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Canada for ten years. Later, she worked at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London. She earned her Doctor of Science in 1967. She also helped study other diseases like hepatitis B and HIV. Her clear pictures are still used in science textbooks today.

Her work helps us understand the world today. The coronavirus family includes the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists used the techniques she developed to identify new viruses quickly. In 2020, her story became famous again because of this. A new testing lab at Guy's Hospital was even named after her. She showed us that even the smallest things can change the whole world.

June Almeida was a pioneering Scottish virologist who revolutionized how we see the microscopic world. A virologist is a scientist who studies viruses, which are tiny particles that can cause disease. Before her work, scientists struggled to observe these particles clearly. Almeida used electron microscopy to bridge this gap. Electron microscopy uses a beam of electrons rather than light to create highly detailed images. Her innovations allowed researchers to identify new viruses and understand their complex structures. This work laid the foundation for modern viral diagnosis and research.

Almeida developed several critical techniques to improve viral imaging. One method she used was negative staining. In this process, a substance is applied to a sample to surround the particles. This creates a dark background that makes the lighter virus particles stand out clearly. She also pioneered immune electron microscopy, or IEM. This technique uses antibodies to target and aggregate viruses. When antibodies bind to the viruses, they cause the particles to clump together. These clumps are much easier to detect and study under an electron microscope. These refinements changed virology by making it possible to see viruses in clinical samples.

In 1966, Almeida made her most famous discovery while working at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School. She was collaborating with David Tyrrell, who was researching the common cold. Tyrrell's team was trying to find a specific respiratory virus known as B814. At the time, many scientists believed viruses had to be highly purified to be seen. Almeida used her new techniques to examine samples from organ cultures. She successfully identified virus particles in the B814 samples. She noticed these particles had a distinct shape. They appeared to be surrounded by a fringe or a "halo."

This unique appearance led to a new scientific name. The word for crown in Latin is "corona." Because the viruses looked like they were wearing crowns, Tyrrell suggested the name coronavirus. Almeida and Tyrrell described these particles as being between 800 and 1200 Å in size. They also noted a distinct fringe that was about 200 Å long. This group of viruses was previously uncharacterized in humans. The coronavirus family is significant because it includes viruses like SARS and SARS-CoV2. The latter is the virus that causes the COVID-19 pandemic.

Almeida's career spanned several prestigious institutions and countries. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1930. After studying at Whitehill Secondary School, she worked as a technician at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. She later moved to Canada, where she spent ten years at the Ontario Cancer Institute. There, she published important research on virus-like particles in cancer patients' blood. In 1964, she was recruited to London to join the research team at St Thomas's. By 1967, she earned her Doctor of Science based on her extensive research. She later worked at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School and the Wellcome Institute.

Her research contributed to the understanding of many different diseases. In 1971, using her IEM technique, she discovered that the hepatitis B virus has two parts. It consists of an outer coat and a small inner component. She also produced the first visualizations of the rubella virus in 1967. Later in her career, she helped produce micrographs of the HIV virus. Her training and methods also helped others. For example, Albert Kapikian used her IEM techniques to identify the Norwalk virus. Her work has been vital in the study of gastroenteritis and infectious hepatitis.

Today, the legacy of June Almeida is more relevant than ever. During the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists relied on the principles of virology she helped establish. Experts have noted that her techniques aided the early identification of the SARS-CoV2 virus. Her original notebooks are now part of exhibitions, such as "Injecting Hope" at the National Museum of Scotland. In 2020, a new COVID-19 testing laboratory at Guy's Hospital was named in her honor. Her ability to see the invisible continues to protect global health.