Dr. Leslie Spence received his early education in St. Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago and graduated in medicine in 1950. Following on an appointment at the General Hospital in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, he was seconded to the Trinidad Regional Virus Laboratory of the Rockefeller Foundation and began a career in virology in 1954. After postgraduate study in virology and bacteriology, he became Director of the Trinidad Regional Virus Laboratory, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology and then Professor in Virology at The University of the West Indies. He emigrated to Canada in 1968 and pursued his career in microbiology at McGill University and the University of Toronto. His arborvirus work, which included the description of several new viruses isolated by staff of the Trinidad Regional Virus Laboratory, led to his appointment as Director of the Canadian National Arbovirus Reference Service from its inception in 1972 until 1988.
From the description of Dr. Leslie Spence : Publications, 1954-1987. [1954-1987] (The Alma Jordan Library, The University of the West Indies, Saint Augustine). WorldCat record id: 48230954
