Obituary

Professor Richard Elliott

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Richard M. Elliott of the Medical Research Council-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research.

Richard had long been a member and supporter of the Society. He was one of the country’s leading virologists and always found the time to interact with wider communities. He served on the Society’s Council twice, and was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of General Virology from 2008 to 2012. In the latter role, he saw the journal cement its position as one of the leaders in the field, at a time when competition from new online and open access journals began to increase.

In his research, Richard Elliott brought bunyaviruses, which today are recognised as a clear threat to public health and agriculture, to the attention of a broader scientific audience. Richard’s contributions to the understanding of bunyavirus molecular biology were world leading. He was a pioneer during a time when an exponential increase in travel and commercial exchanges, as well as ecological and climate change, have led to a geographical expansion of many of the viruses that are transmitted by arthropods, including bunyaviruses.

His group established reverse genetics systems for newly emerging viruses such as Schmallenberg virus, which infects cattle, sheep and goats, and which causes a variety of problems from reduced milk yields to severe deformity. For this work, Richard returned to the bench and took the lead in carrying out experiments in the laboratory. He contributed to the Society’s briefing note on Schmallenberg virus in 2012, which received attention in the UK and Irish Parliaments, the Northern Ireland Assembly and within government. He spoke about the Schmallenberg work at the Annual Conference in 2014. His contributions in this area helped to ensure that it was a subject to which the Society would return, producing a further Parliamentary briefing paper on emerging endemic diseases of livestock in 2014.

Richard was a member of the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses bunyavirus study group, an important service to the community. He was also strongly involved in the organisation of the European Meetings on Viral Zoonoses since 2001, which have played a major role in bringing researchers in this field together. This enthusiasm for bringing virologists together was a theme throughout Richard’s career. His passion and enthusiasm for virology influenced more than just those individuals that were fortunate enough to work with him; Richard has had an important influence in the careers of many virologists both in the UK and further afield.

Richard Elliott’s contributions to the Society were many and varied. He contributed to many of the Society’s conferences, from the Virus Group meeting on viruses and their hosts at Southampton in 1997 to this year’s Annual Conference in Birmingham, where he was an author on no fewer than five presentations and posters.

It was characteristic of Richard’s passion and determination that he worked on manuscripts and was in touch with his laboratory and colleagues until the very last days. His final contribution to the Society was posthumous. He had been a member of the organising group for one of the Focused Meetings held this September - the International Meeting on Arboviruses and their Vectors. There could be no greater testament to his commitment to virology than to witness speakers and poster presenters at all stages of their careers, drawn from 18 different countries on five different continents, coming together to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for the study of arthropod-borne viruses. The first day of the meeting closed with a commemoration of Richard Elliott’s life and his many outstanding contributions to microbiology.