TEHRAN (ISNA)- Iranian American and award-winning computational geneticist at Harvard University, Pardis Sabeti, along with other Ebola fighters, were named TIME magazine’s 2014 Person of the Year.
The Ebola fighters were chosen for their bravery and efforts during a time when many others were reluctant to do so.

Sabeti first became intrigued by the Ebola virus after reading The Hot Zone. “It’s the type of thing you either read and say, “Oh wow, that’s terrifying,” or you read it and say, “Oh wow, I want to do that.” I read it and said, “Oh wow, I want to do that,” Sabeti explained in an interview with TIME.

Sabeti’s research tracked the mutations of the virus and determined that the disease was not being transmitted by animal contact, but rather human-to-human contact. The discovery gave a much needed boost to the containment strategy of the Ebola virus and helped develop treatments and vaccines for Ebola victims.

A contagious disease, Ebola has stricken the native populations of West Africa as well as the health-care workers who treat Ebola patients.

By ISNA

 

The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.