Research Scientist. Bert Achong, a Trinidad-born English pathologist and electron microscopist, received world-wide recognition for his participation in the discovery of the Epstein-Barr virus, which is called human herpesvirus 4 and the first human tumor virus to be discovered. The Epstein-Barr virus is the commonly known cause of infectious mononucleosis in mainly adolescence patients. The virus has been linked to serious adult diseases such as various types of cancers, including Hodgkin lymphoma and an African childhood tumor, Burkitt lymphoma; and diseases effecting the nervous system including Parkinson Disease, dementia, and multiple sclerosis. In the 21st century, researchers are attempting to find an Epstein–Barr virus vaccine, which would eradicate thousands of cases of cancers annually. Born Bert Geoffrey Achong of Chinese ancestry, he excelled in his early education in Trinidad and Tobago. After placing top in the island's scholarship examinations in 1946, he was awarded the Jerningham Gold Medal and the Colonial Scholarship to study in Europe. At the age of 18, he enrolled in St Mary's College at Dublin University College in Ireland, receiving his medical degree in 1953. In 1955 he relocated to London for a position in Clinical Pathology at Lambeth Hospital. In 1963, he joined Sir Michael Anthony Epstein's research group at Bland Sutton Institute at Middlesex Hospital and later in 1968, he followed Epstein to the University of Bristol in the Department of Pathology. The group had received a $45,000 research grant from the National Institute of Health. Very popular with his colleagues and students, he was a senior lecturer on the subject of cellular pathology at the Bachelor of Science level. To isolate the virus, Epstein had recruited as a PhD student, Yvonne Barr, for cell culture preparation, and Achong was recruited for his electron microscopy skills. Using Burkitt's lymphoma cells, which were shipped from Uganda to Epstein's lab, experiments began. In 1964 virus particles were identified in the cultured cells while preparing for other experiments. Achong's powerful electron microscope revealed the tiny virus particles. The results of this discovery were published in 1964 as an article, "Virus Particles in Cultured Lymphoblasts from Burkitt's Lymphoma" in the professional periodical "The Lancet" with Epstein, Achong, and Barr being authors. Achong's electron micrographs were critical in pinpointing particles of a herpes virus family for future research. He co-authored with different researchers, articles on the virus. He co-edited with Sir Anthony Epstein the 108-page textbook, "The Epstein-Barr Virus." In 1971 while examining human cancer cells, he made another major discovery, the human foamy virus. The virus has a hereditary material in place of the more common DNA. This was proved to be the first example of a retrovirus naturally infecting humans. He was bestowed with the Doctorate in Science and the Doctorate in Medicine by the National University of Ireland. He was a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathology in England and a Foundation Fellow of Pathology at the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland. He retired in 1985. Though he visited his native Trinidad often, he maintained his London home where he could enjoy art, theatre, literature, and opera.