Michael Houghton
Facts
© University of Alberta. Photo: Michael Holly
Michael Houghton
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020
Born: 1949, United Kingdom
Affiliation at the time of the award: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Prize motivation: “for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus”
Prize share: 1/3
Work
Hepatitis is a group of diseases that cause inflammation of the liver. It can be caused by different viruses that are transmitted through blood. After Harvey Alter had demonstrated that a previously unknown virus transmitted the disease, Michael Houghton and his colleagues were able to isolate the virus’s genome in 1989. The virus turned out to be an RNA virus from the Flavivirus family and was given the name the hepatitis C virus. The finding was an important step in developing blood tests and new medications that have saved millions of lives.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.
See them all presented here.
