The October 5 announcement of the 2020 Nobel Prize in medicine. Image by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/Getty Images

(JTA) — The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to three scientists who identified the hepatitis C virus.

The prize was awarded Monday to Harvey Alter of the National Institutes of Health, Michael Houghton of the University of Alberta, and Charles Rice of Rockefeller University.

“The Nobel Laureates’ discovery of Hepatitis C virus is a landmark achievement in the ongoing battle against viral diseases. Thanks to their discovery, highly sensitive blood tests for the virus are now available and these have essentially eliminated post-transfusion hepatitis in many parts of the world, greatly improving global health,” the Nobel committee said in announcing the prize.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Alter, 85, who is Jewish, was born in New York and attended medical school at the University of Rochester. Early in his career he worked with the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Baruch Blumberg, who identified the hepatitis B virus.

In 2000, he received the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research for his work leading to the discovery of the virus that causes hepatitis C.

Houghton isolated the genetic sequence of the new hepatitis C virus while working at Chiron Corporation in the 1980s. Rice showed that hepatitis C virus alone could cause hepatitis.

The post Jewish researcher shares Nobel Prize in medicine for identifying hepatitis C virus appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount