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Anne Louise Wyllie (born 1985) is a New Zealand
microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...
who was the lead author of a 2020 research article which led to the development of the SalivaDirect PCR method of testing saliva for
SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had the Novel coronavirus, provisional nam ...
, the virus that causes
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
. She has also worked on community studies to better understand
pneumococcal disease ''Streptococcus pneumoniae'', or pneumococcus, is a Gram-positive, spherical bacteria, alpha-hemolytic member of the genus ''Streptococcus''. ''S. pneumoniae'' cells are usually found in pairs (diplococci) and do not form spores and are non mot ...
. She is a research scientist in epidemiology.


Early life and education

Wyllie studied at
Northcote College Northcote College is a New Zealand secondary school for boys and girls (co-educational) located in Northcote, Auckland, Northcote, Auckland. The school caters for Form 3 (Year 9) to Form 7 (Year 13). It was founded in 1877 and is the oldest sec ...
in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
. She completed a BSc in Biomedical Science at the
University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
in 2007, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma, and Masters in Medical Science in 2009 at the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (University of Auckland), with a dissertation entitled ''In vitro studies of the anti-tumour agent DMXAA''. Wyllie completed a PhD in medical microbiology in 2016 at
Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...
, with a dissertation entitled ''Molecular surveillance of pneumococcal carriage in all ages''. Since early 2020, she worked as a research scientist in the Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at the
Yale School of Public Health The Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) was founded in 1915 by Charles-Edward Amory Winslow and is one of the oldest public health masters programs in the United States. YSPH is both a department (established in 1915) within the school of medic ...
at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. She now works at
Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...
.


Saliva testing research

Wyllie began working on the use of saliva as a sample source to improve the detection of the pneumococcus bacteria in community settings in 2011. In early 2020, at the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, Wyllie joined the Yale IMPACT Covid responses where they encountered a collapse of the supply chain for nasopharyngeal swabs, as well as hesitancy by both patients and healthcare staff to perform swabbing. This prompted her to advocate the validation of saliva testing for SARS-CoV-2. Wyllie wanted to develop a saliva test for SARS-CoV-2 but was hampered by a lack of funding. By April 2020, Wyllie and her colleagues had demonstrated that saliva could be a sensitive and reliable sample for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Wyllie and her team compared side-by-side samples of "gold standard" nasopharyngeal swabs and saliva samples. They discovered that saliva samples could be just as reliable. They also found asymptomatic individuals were testing positive in saliva samples several days before the nasopharyngeal swabs would be positive; however, Wyllie wanted to further develop saliva as a sample type to enable frequent, repeat testing and to drive down testing costs to make testing more accessible. During the spring of 2020, Wyllie and others in Nathan Grubaugh's lab developed a test called SalivaDirect, described as simpler, cheaper, and less invasive than nasopharyngeal testing. The SalivaDirect test collects saliva in a tube without requiring a swab and thus does not require collection by healthcare workers. It also does not involve
RNA extraction RNA extraction is the purification of RNA from biological samples. This procedure is complicated by the ubiquitous presence of ribonuclease enzymes in cells and tissues, which can rapidly degrade RNA. Several methods are used in molecular biology t ...
, allowing direct PCR testing of samples, and cutting the time required to process samples as well as the expense of testing. Removing the RNA extraction from the process also allows a wider range of laboratories to engage in saliva testing than nasopharyngeal testing. In April 2020, Wyllie, as lead author, submitted a paper to ''
The New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. Founded in 1812, the journal is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals. Its 2023 impact factor w ...
'' describing the team's research; it was published in August 2020. This work sparked interest from the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
which was keen to pursue saliva-testing as a means to run a season more safely. Funding from the NBA supported the development, validation, and optimization of SalivaDirect while providing a test population to validate the test for use in asymptomatic people. The SalivaDirect test received FDA emergency use authorization in August 2020, allowing for its nationwide rollout. Through the Fast Grant, part of the Emergent Ventures scheme set up by economist
Tyler Cowen Tyler Cowen (; born January 21, 1962) is an American economist, columnist, blogger, and podcaster. He is a professor at George Mason University, where he holds the Holbert L. Harris chair in the economics department. Cowen writes the "Economic ...
, she was able to raise an additional $500,000 to support the further development of the test and to support local testing efforts. For her efforts, Wyllie was dubbed the "Spit Queen" in an interview on
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
. In August 2021, Wyllie wrote to New Zealand prime minister
Jacinda Ardern Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was ...
to express her concerns over the slow rollout of saliva testing in New Zealand, when other countries had been saliva-testing widely for over a year. She was also critical of the method used to validate the saliva test conducted by Asia Pacific Healthcare Group (APHG) in New Zealand, saying that APHG was using methods that were not widely used overseas. In September 2021, Wyllie said in an interview on
Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand (), commonly known as RNZ or Radio NZ, is a New Zealand public service broadcaster and Crown entity. Established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995, it operates news and current affairs station, RNZ National, and a classi ...
that the New Zealand government had been "badly advised" with respect to saliva testing. In response, Anoop Singh, the chief executive of APHG, questioned Wyllie's qualifications and the relevance of her research, and claimed that saliva samples could be tested in the same way as nasopharyngeal swabs (i.e. with RNA extraction). Singh was reported as saying, "Sorry who is Anne Wyllie? Who is Anne Wyllie? She's a research scientist sitting in the US on some university campus. How is she qualified?" Singh's comments led to a social media backlash, including the creation of Wyllie's
English Wikipedia The English Wikipedia is the primary English-language edition of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. It was created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger on 15 January 2001, as Wikipedia's first edition. English Wikipedia is hosted alongside o ...
page. APHG was contracted by the
New Zealand Ministry of Health The Ministry of Health () is the public service department of New Zealand responsible for healthcare in New Zealand. It came into existence in its current form in 1993. The organisation was founded in 1901 as the Department of Public Health in ...
to deliver saliva testing beginning in May 2021, but the programme did not begin until August. Singh blamed the delay between contracting and roll-out on the Ministry of Health. Wyllie represented the Yale School of Public Health at the September 2021 Global COVID-⁠19 Summit hosted by president
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
.


Honours and awards

Wyllie received a Medal of Excellence from the
Northcote College Northcote College is a New Zealand secondary school for boys and girls (co-educational) located in Northcote, Auckland, Northcote, Auckland. The school caters for Form 3 (Year 9) to Form 7 (Year 13). It was founded in 1877 and is the oldest sec ...
Board of Trustees in 2020. She also received the COVID-19 Research Award from the Yale School of Public Health in 2021.


Selected publications

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References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyllie, Anne Living people New Zealand epidemiologists New Zealand virologists People educated at Northcote College University of Auckland alumni Utrecht University alumni Yale University faculty 1985 births 21st-century New Zealand scientists 21st-century women scientists 21st-century New Zealand biologists New Zealand microbiologists Women epidemiologists Scientists from Auckland