SARS Researcher Linda Saif 2005 Inspire Award Honoree AARP The Magazine

SARS Researcher Linda Saif 2005 Inspire Award Honoree AARP The Magazine

SARS Researcher Linda Saif 2005 Inspire Award Honoree -- AARP The Magazine Advocacy

Linda Saif SARS Researcher

Inspire Awards 2005 Honorees


Linda Saif For more than 25 years, microbiologist Linda Saif quietly worked in one of medicine's less fashionable areas—the infectious diseases of farm animals. Then people in Hong Kong started dying from a mystery illness called SARS, and Dr. Saif's singular expertise proved suddenly invaluable.

SARS was triggered by a coronavirus, a type of bug that usually causes only cold symptoms in humans but can be deadly in animals. As one of the world's leading authorities on animal coronaviruses, Dr. Saif and her Ohio State University animal-virus lab suddenly found themselves at ground zero in the battle for lives. Dr. Saif herself acted as a lead consultant to the World Health Organization, and her lab became part of an international network of labs organized to fight the disease.

More than 900 died in the epidemic, but it could have been worse. "A lot of people said, years ago, that we were on the verge of conquering infectious disease, but now we can see that emerging diseases are coming at us at a fast and furious rate," Dr. Saif says. "Our only hope is doing more research." *The name of this award was originally the Impact Award. In 2008, the awards were renamed as the Inspire Awards. Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

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