Malik Peiris

Professor Malik Peiris FRS, d'Honneur, (Sinhala:මලික් පීරිස්; born 10 November 1949) is a renowned Sri Lankan pathologist and virologist. He has been long based in Hong Kong. His research interests include ecology, evolution, pathogenesis, epidemiology of animal-human influenza and other human respiratory viral infections, authoring over 320 research publications.[1] Peiris is most notable for being the first person to isolate SARS virus.[2][3]

Prof.

Malik Peiris
මලික් පීරිස්
Born
Joseph Sriyal Malik Peiris

(1949-11-10) 10 November 1949
Kandy, Sri Lanka
NationalityBritish; Sri Lankan (dual national); Permanent resident of Hong Kong, China.
Other namesJoseph Sriyal Malik Peiris, Joseph Peiris, JSM Peiris
EducationSt. Anthony's College, Kandy
Alma materUniversity of Ceylon (MBBS)
University of Oxford (DPhil)
OccupationPathologist
Spouse(s)Sharmini Arsecularatne
ChildrenShalini(d); Shehan(s).
RelativesProfessor Sarathnanda “Chubby” Arsecularatne
AwardsLégion d'Honneur
Silver Bauhinia Star
Fellow of the Royal Society

He holds the Tam Wah-Ching Professorship, Division of Public Health Laboratory Sciences, University of Hong Kong, where he continues to lead ground breaking research with a particular interest in newly emerging viruses such as Coronaviruses at the animal-human interface.[4] He serves as a member on the Advisory panel on Emerging Infectious Diseases, Health Protection Agency of Hong Kong, was on the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong and was previously a member of the World Health Organization's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE).[5]

Together with his co-workers, he has published more than 600 scientific papers in a research career spanning more than 35 years[6] and is credited with 32 scientific patents relating to diagnosis of viral infections.[7]

Early Life and Education

Peiris was born on 10 November 1949 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He completed school education at St. Anthony's College, Kandy, and commenced attending the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya to study medicine in October 1967. He graduated with MBBS honours in September 1972.

Academic and Clinical Training

After completing the clinical internships, he joined the Department of Bacteriology in the Medical School of the University of Ceylon's Peradeniya Campus as a junior lecturer. His mentor and head of department was Professor Sarathnanda “Chubby” Arsecularatne, who greatly influenced his career.[3] In 1977, Peiris was awarded a Commonwealth scholarship for post graduate research training at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology in Oxford, with Dr. J.S. Porterfield as his research adviser and mentor. He was awarded the D.Phil degree in 1981. A major aspect of his dissertation was the paradoxical role that antibodies may play in facilitating rather than blocking the entry of viruses such as the West Nile virus and the dengue virus into macrophages, the first line defense cells of the body.[8]

Research training in Oxford was followed by two years of training in clinical pathology as a Registrar in Virology with Professor R. Madeley at the department of Clinical Virology, Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne, culminating in the award of the Membership of the Royal College of Pathologists. In 1982, he returned to his native University in Sri Lanka where, over a period of six years, he established a pioneering Clinical Virology Laboratory. In reflection, he described his achievements during these years in a resource poor setting as some that he is most proud of.[3] After his period in Sri Lanka from 1982 to 1988, Peiris rejoined the Victoria Royal Infirmary in Newcastle in the UK, as a Consultant Virologist. The final and most significant career change was in 1995, when Peiris shifted his Clinical and Scientific efforts to Hong Kong, based around the HKU-Pasteur Research Centre at the University of Hong Kong, after having founded the Clinical Diagnostic and Public Health Laboratory at Queen Mary Hospital, University of Hong Kong.[3][9][7] His team of scientists and doctors was strategically placed to face the challenges of the Avian influenza virus outbreak, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus outbreak, the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Coronavirus outbreak and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic.

Original research carried out by the Hong Kong laboratories have made major contributions to the knowledge of the causative viruses of these diseases and the understanding, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the diseases that these viruses cause. During the period of 2003 to 2004, Peiris was credited with authoring the highest number of high impact publications in the scientific world.[10]

Notable findings

Avian Influenza

In 1997, after the first human outbreak of the Avian Influenza Virus H5N1 in Hong Kong, Professor Peiris's attention was turned to the virus, which claimed the lives a third of its victims. Research in his laboratory showed that the virus induces high levels of chemicals called cytokines when it infects a type of white blood cell. This was later shown to correlate with high levels of cytokines in infected humans.[11] This so-called "cytokine storm" is now recognized as a major mechanism of avian influenza virus pathogenesis.[12]

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

In 2003, Hong Kong suffered another virus outbreak, this time from an unknown respiratory disease, termed SARS.[13] Peiris became known worldwide when his laboratory was the first to isolate the virus,[14] a Novel coronavirus (CoV), now known as SARS-CoV.[15] Peiris led the team which isolated the causal agent for the respiratory infection SARS in early 2003.[16][17] By June 2003, the Peiris laboratory and their collaborators had developed a rapid diagnostic test for SARS-CoV using Real-time polymerase chain reaction.[18] The team has published the standard laboratory manual book on the SARS coronavirus.[19]

COVID-19

In February 2020, Peiris and his colleague, Leo L. M. Poon, published a definitive article in the Journal Nature Medicine presaging the pandemic of a new coronavirus.[20] In March 2020, Peiris reported that a Pomeranian dog was infected with COVID-19. At first, these findings were dismissed,[21] but other COVID-19 animal infections across the world, substantiated Peiris's findings that animals could be infected by the virus such as the case of a tiger in Bronx Zoo[22] and a pug dog in North Carolina[23] both testing positive.

Honours

He is the first Sri Lankan to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (conferred in 2006).[24] This is considered the highest scientific honour in the Commonwealth.

He was decorated as Knight of the Légion d'Honneur of France on 15 October 2007 [25]

He was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS) in 2008 from the government of Hong Kong SAR for "outstanding achievements in the field of virology and pathology, in particular his contribution to the prevention and control of infectious diseases."[26]

Malik continues to work at the University of Hong Kong and was appointed scientific director of the Hong Kong University-Pasteur Institute.[27]

In May 2017, Malik was elected as a foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences [28]

He holds several academic positions by being the Chair Professor of Microbiology and Tam Wah-ching Professor of Medical Sciences at The University of Hong Kong, Honorary Consultant Microbiologist at Queen Mary Hospital and the Scientific Director of the HKU-Pasteur Research Centre at Hong Kong.

Family Background

He is married to Sharmini Arsecularatne and they have a daughter, Shalini and a son, Shehan.

Professor Sarathnanda “Chubby” Arsecularatne was the foundation Professor of Bacteriology at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, and was Peiris’ early mentor. He later became Peiris’ father-in-law.[3]

References
  1. "WHO | Professor Malik Peiris". Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. "The Academy of Sciences Malaysia has decided to award the Mahathir Science Award 2007 to Professor Joseph Sriyal Malik Peiris for his outstanding contribution to Tropical Medicine". 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  3. Nat Med. 2004; 10(9): 886. (2004). "Nature Scientist Biography". Nature Medicine. 10 (9): 886. doi:10.1038/nm0904-886. PMC 7095930. PMID 15340403.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "Peiris, Joseph Sriyal Malik". sph.hku.hk. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Researcc Gate- Joseph S Malik Peiris https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joseph_S_Peiris. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. "HKU Scholars Hub: Researcher Page". HKU Scholars Hub. Archived from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  8. Peiris JS, Porterfield JS (1979). "Antibody-mediated enhancement of Flavivirus replication in macrophage-like cell lines". Nature. 282 (5738): 509–11. Bibcode:1979Natur.282..509P. doi:10.1038/282509a0. PMID 503230. S2CID 4336809.
  9. "Visit of the Grand Chancellor of the Légion d'honneur", Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, 2007, webpage: FHK17 Archived 12 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine: (states "Lap Chee Tsui and Pr Malik Peiris, scientific director of HKU-Pasteur Research Centre received the award of Knight").
  10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Cheung CY; Poon, LL; Lau, AS; Luk, W; Lau, YL; Shortridge, KF; Gordon, S; Guan, Y; Peiris, JS; et al. (2002). "Induction of proinflammatory cytokines in human macrophages by influenza A (H5N1) viruses: a mechanism for the unusual severity of human disease?". Lancet. 360 (9348): 1831–7. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11772-7. PMID 12480361. S2CID 43488229.
  12. Peiris; Yu, WC; Leung, CW; Cheung, CY; Ng, WF; Nicholls, JM; Ng, TK; Chan, KH; et al. (2004). "Re-emergence of fatal human influenza A subtype H5N1 disease". Lancet. 363 (9409): 617–9. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15595-5. PMC 7112424. PMID 14987888.
  13. Sampathkumar P, Temesgen Z, Smith TF, Thompson RL (2003). "SARS: epidemiology, clinical presentation, management, and infection control measures". Mayo Clin. Proc. 78 (7): 882–90. doi:10.4065/78.7.882. PMC 7094524. PMID 12839084.
  14. Peiris JS, Lai ST, Poon LL, et al. (2003). "Coronavirus as a possible cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome". Lancet. 361 (9366): 1319–25. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13077-2. PMC 7112372. PMID 12711465.
  15. Lau YL, Peiris JS (2005). "Pathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome". Curr. Opin. Immunol. 17 (4): 404–10. doi:10.1016/j.coi.2005.05.009. PMC 7127490. PMID 15950449.
  16. Normile, Dennis (9 May 2003). "Up Close and Personal With SARS". Science. 300 (5621): 886–887. doi:10.1126/science.300.5621.886. PMID 12738826. S2CID 58433622.
  17. "Features", Daily News (online), June 2006, webpage: DailyNews-fea01 Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine: contains "Following the discovery of the cause of SARS, Professor Peiris was invited...".
  18. Poon, Leo L M; Wong, On Kei; Luk, Winsie; Yuen, Kwok Yung; Peiris, Joseph S M; Guan, Yi; Guan, Y (1 June 2003). "Rapid Diagnosis of a Coronavirus Associated with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)". Clinical Chemistry. 49 (6): 953–955. doi:10.1373/49.6.953. PMC 7108127. PMID 12765993.
  19. Peiris, J. S. Malik; Poon, Leo L. M. (2010). "Detection of SARS Coronavirus". Diagnostic Virology Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology. 665. pp. 369–382. doi:10.1007/978-1-60761-817-1_20. ISBN 978-1-60761-816-4. PMC 7121416. PMID 21116811.
  20. Poon, Leo L. M.; Peiris, Malik (March 2020). "Emergence of a novel human coronavirus threatening human health". Nature Medicine. 26 (3): 317–319. doi:10.1038/s41591-020-0796-5. PMC 7095779. PMID 32108160.
  21. "'Very unlikely' dog with positive test died from Covid-19, source says". South China Morning Post. 18 March 2020. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  22. Miller, Ryan W. "Coronavirus sickened a tiger at the Bronx Zoo. Does that mean cats are at risk?". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 25 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  23. Hauser, Christine; Gross, Jenny (28 April 2020). "Pug in North Carolina Tests Positive for the Coronavirus, Researchers Say". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  24. Peiris, Joseph (2006). "Fellowship of the Royal Society". Royal Society. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  25. "Professor Malik Peiris receives the title". Consulat général de France à Hong Kong et Macao.
  26. "2008 Honours List". www.info.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  27. "HKU-Pasteur Staff page". Archived from the original on 8 December 2008.
  28. "National Academy of Sciences, USA". www.nasonline.org. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  • "Features", Daily News (online), June 2006, webpage: DailyNews-fea01: contains "Following the discovery of the cause of SARS, Professor Peiris was invited...".
  • "HKU ResearcherPage: Peiris, JSM", The HKU Scholars Hub (online database), webpage: HKU Scholars Hub: Researcher Page
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