Belgian virologist and senator Lise Thiry dies at 102

Tributes have been paid to Lise Thiry, a top Belgian virologist and former Belgian senator, who has died in Waterloo at the age of 102.The Walloon scientist and politician was a leading figure in feminism, social medicine and aid to refugees and Aids victims.Born in Liège on 5 February 1921, she was the daughter of Marcel Thiry, also a senator in addition to being a poet and writer.It was her father who encouraged her to study science, and she graduated from the University of Liège in 1946, one of only three women doctors out of 140 students.Lise Thiry then joined the Institut Pasteur, where she focused on virology and microbiology and event…