David Tyrrell (physician)


David Arthur John Tyrrell was a British virologist. He was the director of the Common Cold Unit, which investigated viruses. He and June Almeida are credited with publishing the first picture of a coronavirus.

Life

Born 19 June 1925, he studied medicine at the University of Sheffield, then worked at the Medical Research Council's Common Cold Unit from 1957, becoming its Director from 1982.
After June Almeida produced the first images of the rubella virus using immune-electronmicroscopy, Tyrrell and Almeida worked on characterising a new type of viruses, now called coronaviruses.
He retired from the Cold Unit in 1990 and subsequently carried out research at the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research at Porton Down, where he also worked on his scientific autobiography, Cold Wars. He died on 2 May 2005.

Awards and honours

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1970, and was appointed Commander of the Order of British Empire in 1980. He held honorary degrees from the University of Sheffield and the University of Southampton, and received the Stewart Prize, the Ambuj Nath Bose prize, and the Conway Evans Prize.