June Dalziel Almeida
Personal Information
Born: 1930
Died: 2007
Country of Birth: Scotland
Nationality: Scottish
Ethnicity: White
Education
University of London earned a DSc in 1971 & MS in 1970 on the basis of her publications & scientific contributions while working at the Ontario Cancer Institute (now Princess Margaret Cancer Center) & St. thomas Hospital Medical School (now part of King's college London); 1952 Technical Qualification, Institute of Medical Lab Technology (A.I.M.L.T.)
Professional Life
Field of Study: Virology
Institution/Corporation: Glasgow royal Infirmary; St. Bartholomew's Hospital; Princess Margaret Cancer Center; Royal Postgraduate Medical School; Wellcome Research Labs
Degrees & Memberships: None found
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1947 top science prize, Whitehill Senior Secondary School; 2020 a COVID-19 testing lab at Guy's Hospital was named for her
Achievements: she identified the first human coronovirus while working as an electron microscopy technician by developing negative staining which helped her find & identify the virus; she was the first to visualize rubella virus & identify the structure of HIV & Hepatitis B; perfected the technique called Immune Electron Microscopy (IEM); reportedly is named in several European patents however none were located
Brother died of diptheria when he was 6; possibly led to her interest in diseases
Left school at age 16 (1947) to go to work to help parents pay bills
1985 took early retirement from Wellcome after second husband (Philip Gardner Married 1982) had a heart attack; trained as a yoga teacher & taught classes & helped Philip run an antique shop & repaired china
Taught Albert Kapikian of NIH her IEM techniques & he used them to identify the Norovirus; Had a good sense of humor & wrote a satire of William Blake's poem with an apology to him: "Virus, virus shining bright, In the phosphotungstic night, What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fivefold symmetry"
Developed a strong passion for photography as a teenager
Moved to Canada in 1956 with 1st husband (Enrique Rosalio Almeida known as Henry); returned to London in 1964 & divorced in 1967; raised her daughter as a single parent with the help of her parents; After the death of her second husband in 1994 taught herself computer skills & how to play the flute while embracing digital photography