Sir Michael Anthony Epstein (1921–2024)

Sir Michael Anthony Epstein, pathologist who identified the first known human cancer–causing virus, died on 6 February at the age of 102. His team’s pioneering work investigating primary tumor tissue and cultured tumor specimens from Ugandan children with jaw tumors identified the virus that now bears his name: the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). EBV is associated with the tumor Epstein was studying, now known as Burkitt lymphoma, as well as a variety of other cancers and illnesses, including infectious mononucleosis and multiple sclerosis.