Sir Michael Houghton

Dr. Michael Houghton was the Canadian Excellence Research Chair in Virology from 2010-2018 and is the Li Ka Shing Professor of Virology at the University of Alberta where he is also the Director of the Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute. He was jointly named the 2020 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine along with Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice in recognition of the discovery of the hepatitis C (HCV) virus. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2020 for services to medicine. His research in the field of viral hepatitis has led to protection of the world’s blood supplies, and hepatitis C treatment to the point where the viral infection can now be cured in virtually all patients.