Sir Michael Anthony Epstein ( Epstein ) ( born Michael Anthony Epstein ; born May 18, 1921 ) is an English virologist of Jewish origin. Together with the English virologist Yvonne Barr, isolated a Herpesviridae virus found in cell cultures of Burkitt's lymphoma ( 1964 ); later its etiological role in the incidence of infectious mononucleosis was proved, and the pathogen ( Epstein-Barr virus ) was named after them.
| Michael Anthony Epstein | |
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| Awards and prizes | (1973) Geirdner International Award (1988)  |
Biography
Epstein attended the St. Petersburg School of London Paul's School , then to Trinity College (Cambridge) and the medical school of Middlesex Hospital. In 1968-1985, Epstein was a professor of pathology (later an honorary professor), from 1968 to 1982 - head of the department at the University of Bristol . In 1979 he was elected a member of the Royal Society of London [1] , and from 1986 to 1991 was his vice president. In 1992 he was awarded the Royal Medal . In 1985, Epstein was awarded the Order of the British Empire , and in 1991 he was knighted .
Epstein was the first person to suggest that Burkitt's lymphoma was caused by a virus. After hearing a lecture by Denis Burkitt in 1961, Epstein changed the focus of the study to the search for the viral origin of Burkitt’s lymphoma, and after more than two years of work with Burkitt’s tumor cells and subsequent work to isolate the virus from them, Epstein-Barr virus was finally detected in February 1964 year.