At this still early phase of the COVID-19 crisis, it is not clear who, if any, individual might emerge as a hero comparable in stature to say Carlo Urbani during the SARS outbreak, or Peter Piot during the Ebola and HIV outbreaks. Nonetheless, June Almeida has been noted in the media recently for her critical role in the discovery of the first human coronavirus. Almeida made other significant contributions to virology. Yet, for a major part of her career, her only formal scientific training was as a laboratory technician. David Tyrrell recounts the discovery of the first human coronavirus in h ..read more