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Coronavirus: Chinese scientist Li Lanjuan, who pushed for Wuhan lockdown, named among Nature magazine’s 10 best of the year
- Zhang Yongzhen, publisher of the genome sequence for the pathogen, also recognised as one of the people who ‘helped shape science’ in 2020
- WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and America’s top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci also honoured
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Two Chinese scientists who played key roles in the fight against Covid-19 have been honoured with inclusion on Nature magazine’s list of the top 10 people who “helped shape science” in 2020.
Infectious disease expert Li Lanjuan, who proposed the lockdown in the central Chinese city of Wuhan to control the spread of the disease, and Zhang Yongzhen, who led the Shanghai team that was the first in the world to publish the genome sequence of the novel coronavirus, were listed alongside eight others recognised by the British scientific journal.
The list was dominated by those involved in the fight against Covid-19, which has killed more than 1.6 million people around the world since being detected in Wuhan at the end of 2019. Others praised included New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and America’s top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci.
World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also made the list, despite facing criticism over his agency’s handling of the crisis.
“These individuals helped to make amazing discoveries and brought attention to crucial issues,” said the report, which is compiled by Nature’s editors and correspondents around the world.
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