Michael Houghton

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Michael Houghton (virologist)
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For other people named Michael Houghton, see Michael Houghton (disambiguation).
Nobel Prize for Medicine (2020)
Scientific career
FieldsMicrobiology
Virology
InstitutionsUniversity of Alberta
Chiron Corporation
ThesisRNA Polymerases and Transcription in the Chicken Oviduct (1977)
Doctoral advisorJames Chesterton
Websiteapps.ualberta.ca/directory/person/mhoughto

Sir Michael Houghton (born 1949) is a British scientist and Nobel Prize laureate. Along with Qui-Lim Choo, George Kuo and Daniel W. Bradley, he co-discovered Hepatitis C in 1989.[1] He also co-discovered the Hepatitis D genome in 1986.[2] The discovery of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) led to the rapid development of diagnostic reagents to detect HCV in blood supplies, which has reduced the risk of acquiring HCV through blood transfusion from one in three to about one in two million.[3][4] It is estimated that antibody testing has prevented at least 40,000 new infections per year in the US alone and many more worldwide.[5]

Houghton is currently Canada Excellence Research Chair in Virology and Li Ka Shing Professor of Virology at the University of Alberta, where he is also director of the Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute.[6] He was the co-recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice.[7][8]

Early life and education

Born in the United Kingdom in 1949, his father was a truck driver and union official.

biological sciences in 1972,[12] and subsequently completed his PhD degree in biochemistry at King's College London in 1977.[5][13]

Career

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020: Seminal experiments by HJ Alter, M Houghton and CM Rice leading to the discovery of HCV as the causative agent of non-A, non-B hepatitis.

Houghton joined

G. D. Searle & Company before moving to Chiron Corporation in 1982. It was at Chiron that Houghton together with colleagues Qui-Lim Choo and George Kuo, and Daniel W. Bradley from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, first discovered evidence for HCV.[14]

Houghton was co-author of a series of seminal studies published in 1989 and 1990 that identified hepatitis C antibodies in blood, particularly among patients at higher risk of contracting the disease, including those who had received blood transfusions.[15][16][17][18] This work led to the development of a blood screening test in 1990; widespread blood screening that began in 1992 with the development of a more sensitive test has since virtually eliminated hepatitis C contamination of donated blood supplies in Canada.[19][20] In other studies published during the same period, Houghton and collaborators linked hepatitis C with liver cancer.[21][22][23]

In 2013, Houghton's team at the

pre-clinical trials.[26]

Honours and awards

References

  1. PMID 2523562
    .
  2. S2CID 4265339
    .
  3. ^ "Opinion: Nobel-worthy discovery right in our backyard". Canadian for Health Research. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  4. ^ Semeniuk, Ivan (20 March 2013). "Science world abuzz as virologist turns down Gairdner award". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-1-78326-386-8
    .
  6. ^ "MMI Faculty – Michael Houghton, PhD". Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Press release: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  8. ^ Wu, Katherine J.; Victor, Daniel (5 October 2020). "Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded to Scientists Who Discovered Hepatitis C Virus – Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice were jointly honored for their decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Congratulations to a Nobel Prize Laureate". Alleyn's School. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Michael Houghton, PhD". Canadians for Health Research. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Eureka moments in research". Alberta Innovates: Health Solutions. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Nobelist: keep faith, because Covid vaccine is just round corner". Times Higher Education. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  13. ISBN 978-0-7923-8760-2
    . Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  14. PMID 19781804
    .
  15. PMID 2496467
    .
  16. S2CID 23825621
    .
  17. S2CID 25211687
    .
  18. PMID 2509915
    .
  19. PMID 1663510
    .
  20. S2CID 20178902
    .
  21. PMID 2169456
    .
  22. doi:10.1002/hep.1840100432
    .
  23. PMID 2168552
    .
  24. PMID 23527266
    .
  25. PMID 23806539
    .
  26. ^ "University of Alberta virologist awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  27. ^ Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award 1992
  28. ^ Robert Koch Prize 1993
  29. ^ William Beaumont Prize 1994
  30. ^ Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award 2000
  31. ^ "List of Past AABB Award Recipients". aabb.org. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  32. ^ "The William H. Prusoff HEP DART Lifetime Achievement Award". Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  33. ^ "World-renowned virologist named recipient of Gairdner Award". 22 March 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  34. ^ Boesveld, Sarah (20 March 2013). "Edmonton scientist turns down $100,000 'baby Nobel' because it shut out colleagues". Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  35. ^ "A Titanic actor, climate change trailblazer and banking boss: Meet UEA's newest honorary graduates". Eastern Daily Press. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  36. ^ "No. 63377". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2021. p. B2.

External links

Scholia has a profile for Michael Houghton (Q1927895).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Houghton&oldid=1194646776"