Shi Zhengli
Shi Zhengli | |||||||
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| Born | 26 May 1964 Xixia County, Henan, China | ||||||
| Education | |||||||
| Known for | Research into bat viruses | ||||||
| Scientific career | |||||||
| Fields | Virology | ||||||
| Institutions | |||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 石正丽 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 石正麗 | ||||||
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Shi Zhengli (simplified Chinese: 石正丽; traditional Chinese: 石正麗; born 26 May 1964) is a Chinese virologist who researches SARS-like coronaviruses of bat origin. Shi directs the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). In 2017, Shi and her colleague Cui Jie discovered that the SARS coronavirus likely originated in a population of cave-dwelling horseshoe bats in Xiyang Yi Ethnic Township, Yunnan. She came to prominence in the popular press as "Batwoman" during the COVID-19 pandemic for her work with bat coronaviruses. Shi was included in Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.