Michael Houghton

Michael Houghton (born 1949, United Kingdom) British-born virologist known for his contributions to the discovery of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The identification of HCV facilitated the development of improved blood screening tests and diagnostic methods for the detection of hepatitis caused specifically by HCV. For his breakthrough, Houghton was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, shared with American virologists Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice.

Houghton was born into a working-class family; his father was a truck driver. After successfully passing exams, Houghton was admitted to a private high school. He later won a scholarship to study at the University of East Anglia, where he completed a degree in biological sciences in 1972. He then attended King’s College London for graduate studies. His research focused on elucidating the human beta interferon gene; interferons produced by the body’s cells are a key defense response against viruses. In 1977 Houghton graduated from King’s College, earning a doctoral degree in biochemistry.

Houghton subsequently moved to the United States. After a short period at the pharmaceutical manufacturer G.D. Searle & Company (later G.D. Searle, LLC, a subsidiary of Pfizer), he joined the California-based biotechnology firm Chiron Corporation. At Chiron, Houghton worked closely on investigations of non-A, non-B hepatitis with fellow Chiron scientists George Ching-Hung Kuo and Qui-Lim Choo and American virologist Daniel W. Bradley, who was based at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Using a complementary DNA library developed from blood plasma containing a non-A, non-B hepatitis virus, the researchers successfully identified a DNA clone derived from the HCV RNA genome. Houghton and colleagues subsequently developed an assay to screen for HCV in blood samples. The breakthrough facilitated the development of highly effective blood screening tests to prevent the transmission of HCV via blood transfusion. While at Chiron, Houghton also contributed to the discovery of the hepatitis D virus genome.

In 2007 Houghton left Chiron to join Epiphany Biosciences, where he was the chief scientific officer. Two years later he moved to Canada, having accepted the position of Li Ka Shing Professor of Virology at the University of Alberta. His later research focused on the development of an HCV vaccine.

Houghton received various honours and awards during his career, including the Robert Koch Prize (1993) and the Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award (2000, shared with Alter). He declined the Canada Gairdner International Award (2013) because of its exclusion of his colleagues who helped identify HCV. In 2021 Houghton was made a knight.