Immunologist, Virologist, Epidemiologist — Do You Know the Difference?

Living with COVID-19 all these months has taken many of us into areas of knowledge we never thought about before.

We’ve all gotten pretty good at tossing around scientific terms in the realm of infectious disease. And if we don’t know what they mean, experts like Angelo DeLucia, Ph.D., can help.

For example, what’s the difference between an immunologist and a virologist?

The quiz below sorts out a few terms. For more on this topic, and to get to know Dr. DeLucia – a professor of molecular virology and cancer biology who also conducts research on human papillomaviruses (HPV) and cervical cancer, check out “The Mindfulness of a Virus Hunter,” published in the fall issue of NEOMED’s Ignite magazine.

You can read the magazine for free online, or request a hard copy (also free) by emailing marcom@neomed.edu.

TAKE THE QUIZ

What do the following experts do? See if you can match them up on the list below.

1. Epidemiologist

2. Immunologist

3. Virologist

4. Infectious disease physician

 

A. Studies how the body protects itself from microbes that cause infectious disease and tumors. Also develops new vaccines, novel antibiotics and improved therapies for inflammatory diseases.

B. May be both a physician who diagnoses, manages and prevent infections and also a scientist seeking new knowledge on the viruses that cause infections.

C. Studies the distribution and determinants of health-related states and events (not just diseases) in specified populations.

D. Diagnoses and manages the bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections that occur in humans, using existing knowledge.

(Answers: 1: C; 2: A; 3: B; 4: D)