Who Is Shi Zhengli? Virologist 'Bat Woman' From Wuhan Lab

Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli warned on August 6 that new and deadlier mutations of COVID-19 will continue to emerge.

"As the number of infected cases has just become too big, this allowed the novel coronavirus more opportunities to mutate and select," Zhengli stated.

The virus has repeatedly mutated since its first detection in late 2019 in Wuhan, the city where Zhengli's Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) reportedly carried out pioneering research on almost identical viruses.

While some have acknowledged Zhengli's passionate research into bats and viruses and continuous inputs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, others have accused the virologist of transmitting the virus. However, China, as well as Zhengli, have repeatedly denied the long-running accusations that the Wuhan lab either created or unintentionally leaked the coronavirus.

According to a report, Zhengli initially insisted that the "rumours are baseless and just constantly pouring filth on innocent scientists."

Who Is Shi Zhengli?

The 57-year-old virologist rose to fame for her research related to bats and viruses and accusations of transmitting the COVID-19 virus from her lab. She generally researches SARS-like coronaviruses of bat origin.

Zhengli holds a bachelor's degree and master's degree in genetics. She received her PhD at the Montpellier 2 University in France in the year 2000.

Zhengli is the director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

In the year 2017, Zhengli, along with her colleagues discovered that the SARS coronavirus possibly originated in a population of cave-dwelling horseshoe bats in the Chinese province of Yunnan's Xiyang Yi Ethnic Township.

She studied samples of some of the first people to get infected with the new and then-unknown respiratory illness in China in December 2019 and found it was similar to SARS.

Apart from being called Batwoman, Zhengli was also included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020 for her work with bat coronaviruses.

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