On June 10, 2021, as part of the Marie & Willie Chrétien Conference Series, the IRCM will welcome eminent virologist, Michael Houghton. The Nobel Prize winner for his groundbreaking work on Hepatitis C (HCV), will discuss: HCV Vaccination: The final frontier in controlling the HCV pandemic.
As the world grapples with the COVID-19 virus, don't miss this opportunity to learn more about how Dr. Houghton and his collaborators halted the spread of the Hepatitis C virus through the development of diagnostic methods, antiviral treatments and vaccines.
Free and open to all!
Thursday, June 10, 2021, from 4 p.m.
About Michael Houghton
Dr. Michael Houghton held the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Virology from 2010 to 2018 and is Li Ka Shing Professor of Virology at the University of Alberta, where he is also Director of the Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute. He was jointly named the 2020 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine with Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice in recognition of the discovery of the HCV virus. His research in the field of viral hepatitis has led to the protection of the world's blood supply and the treatment of hepatitis C to the point where the viral infection can now be cured in virtually all patients. Together with colleagues, he has developed the only candidate vaccine against HCV that is able to neutralize the infectivity of HCV in vitro, for most strains of the virus.
Born in the United Kingdom, Houghton graduated from the University of East Anglia with a BSc in Biological Sciences in 1972, followed by a PhD in Biochemistry from King's College, University of London in 1977. It is from GD Searle & Company in the United Kingdom that he studied the regulation of the human interferon gene before moving to Chiron Corporation in 1982 where, with his colleagues, they discovered HCV for the first time in 1989. Dr. Houghton's groundbreaking work led to the development of screening tests that have helped eliminate hepatitis C contamination through blood donation in Canada and around the world. His group has also identified key enzymes in the viral replication cycle that have pioneered the development of effective drugs now being marketed around the world.
