Sir Michael Houghton (born 1949) is a British scientist and Nobel Prize laureate. Along with
Qui-Lim Choo
Qui-Lim Choo is a Singapore-born scientist, who along with Michael Houghton, George Kuo and Daniel W. Bradley, co-discovered and cloned Hepatitis C in 1989. He also co-discovered the Hepatitis D genome in 1986. The discovery of Hepatitis C led to ...
,
George Kuo
George Ching-Hung Kuo is a Taiwanese-born scientist, who along with Michael Houghton, Qui-Lim Choo and Daniel W. Bradley, co-discovered and cloned the hepatitis C virus in 1989.
Kuo graduated from the National Taiwan University in 1961 and comple ...
and
Daniel W. Bradley
Daniel W. Bradley (born 13 July 1941) is an important American virologist who, along with Michael Houghton, Qui-Lim Choo and George Kuo at Chiron Corporation, worked to help isolate the Hepatitis C virus in 1989. He graduated from San José Stat ...
, he co-discovered
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...
in 1989.
He also co-discovered the
Hepatitis D
Hepatitis D is a type of viral hepatitis caused by the hepatitis delta virus (HDV). HDV is one of five known hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D, and E. HDV is considered to be a satellite (a type of subviral agent) because it can propagate only in ...
genome
In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ge ...
in 1986. The discovery of the
Hepatitis C virus
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small (55–65 nm in size), enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the family ''Flaviviridae''. The hepatitis C virus is the cause of hepatitis C and some cancers such as liver cancer ( hepato ...
(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. It is estimated that antibody testing has prevented at least 40,000 new infections per year in the US alone and many more worldwide.
Houghton is currently Canada Excellence Research Chair in
Virology
Virology is the Scientific method, scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host (biology), ...
and Li Ka Shing Professor of Virology at the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
, where he is also director of the Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute. He is the co-recipient of the
2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with
Harvey J. Alter and
Charles M. Rice
Charles Moen Rice (born August 25, 1952) is an American virologist and Nobel Prize laureate whose main area of research is the Hepatitis C virus. He is a professor of virology at the Rockefeller University in New York City and an adjunct profess ...
.
Early life and education
Born in the United Kingdom in 1949, his father was a truck driver and union official.
He was educated at
Alleyn's School
Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent, Church of England, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation ...
. At the age of 17 he became inspired to become a
microbiologist
A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...
after reading about
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...
. Houghton won a scholarship to study at the
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
, graduating with a
lower second class honours degree in
biological sciences
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...
in 1972, and subsequently completed his
PhD degree in
biochemistry
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...
at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
in 1977.
Career
Houghton joined
G. D. Searle & Company before moving to
Chiron Corporation
Chiron Corporation ( ) was an American multinational biotechnology firm founded in 1981, based in Emeryville, California, that was acquired by Novartis on April 20, 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. C ...
in 1982. It was at Chiron that Houghton together with colleagues
Qui-Lim Choo
Qui-Lim Choo is a Singapore-born scientist, who along with Michael Houghton, George Kuo and Daniel W. Bradley, co-discovered and cloned Hepatitis C in 1989. He also co-discovered the Hepatitis D genome in 1986. The discovery of Hepatitis C led to ...
and
George Kuo
George Ching-Hung Kuo is a Taiwanese-born scientist, who along with Michael Houghton, Qui-Lim Choo and Daniel W. Bradley, co-discovered and cloned the hepatitis C virus in 1989.
Kuo graduated from the National Taiwan University in 1961 and comple ...
, and
Daniel W. Bradley
Daniel W. Bradley (born 13 July 1941) is an important American virologist who, along with Michael Houghton, Qui-Lim Choo and George Kuo at Chiron Corporation, worked to help isolate the Hepatitis C virus in 1989. He graduated from San José Stat ...
from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
, first discovered evidence for HCV.
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. 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. In other studies published during the same period, Houghton and collaborators linked hepatitis C with liver cancer.
In 2013, Houghton's team at the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
showed that a vaccine derived from a single strain of Hepatitis C was effective against all strains of the virus. the vaccine was in
pre-clinical trials.
Honours and awards
* 1992 –
Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award The Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award is a scientific award given by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) to scientists with "an international reputation in transfusion medicine or cellular therapies" "whose original research resulted in an ...
* 1993 –
Robert Koch Prize
The Robert Koch Medal and Award are two prizes awarded annually by the German for excellence in the biomedical sciences. These awards grew out of early attempts by German physician Robert Koch to generate funding to support his research into the ...
* 1994 –
William Beaumont Prize
* 2000 –
Lasker Award
The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1945 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, which was f ...
* 2005 – Dale A. Smith Memorial Award
* 2009 – Hepdart Lifetime Achievement Award
* 2013 – He became the first person to decline the
$100,000
Gairdner Foundation International Award
The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a p ...
stating "I felt that it would be unfair of me to accept this award without the inclusion of two colleagues, Dr.
Qui-Lim Choo
Qui-Lim Choo is a Singapore-born scientist, who along with Michael Houghton, George Kuo and Daniel W. Bradley, co-discovered and cloned Hepatitis C in 1989. He also co-discovered the Hepatitis D genome in 1986. The discovery of Hepatitis C led to ...
and Dr.
George Kuo
George Ching-Hung Kuo is a Taiwanese-born scientist, who along with Michael Houghton, Qui-Lim Choo and Daniel W. Bradley, co-discovered and cloned the hepatitis C virus in 1989.
Kuo graduated from the National Taiwan University in 1961 and comple ...
."
* 2019 – Honorary doctorate of science from the
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
* 2020 –
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
* 2021 –
Knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in the
2021 Birthday Honours for services to medicine.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houghton, Michael
1949 births
Living people
People educated at Alleyn's School
Alumni of the University of East Anglia
Alumni of King's College London
British microbiologists
British virologists
Canada Research Chairs
Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award
University of Alberta faculty
Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine
British Nobel laureates
Knights Bachelor