Aina Muceniece (23 March 1924 – 14 February 2010)[1] was a Latvian immunologist and founder of practical cancer virotherapy [2] who discovered that an echovirus might be a useful treatment for melanoma.
[2] She graduated in 1941 from the Vilis Olavs School of Commerce in Riga and worked as a nurse during World War II in Yaroslavl, USSR.
[3] Muceniece's laboratory started to study enteroviruses in the 1960s, and the research led to the identification of an echovirus that had possible use to treat melanoma, which became RIGVIR.
[4] Muceniece also worked at the Pauls Stradiņš Hospital and the National Oncology Center as an immunology consultant from 1977 to 2003.
[3] On February 14, 2016, the Professor Aina Muceniece Virotherapy Foundation was established, which helps people around the world to receive virotherapy, as well as continues the special compensation system created by Professor Muceniece's family, ensuring the availability of RIGVIR to Latvians with significant discounts.