Yoshihiro Kawaoka
Born (1955-11-14) November 14, 1955
Kobe, Japan
Alma materHokkaido University
Occupation(s)Virologist, professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Tokyo
Known forStudies of influenza and Ebola viruses
AwardsRobert Koch Prize (2006)
Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology (2015)
Japan Academy Prize (2016)
Keio Medical Science Prize (2022)

Yoshihiro Kawaoka (河岡 義裕, Kawaoka Yoshihiro, born November 14, 1955) is a virologist specializing in the study of the influenza and Ebola viruses. He holds a professorship in virology in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and at the University of Tokyo, Japan.

Following the West African Ebola virus epidemic of 2014, Kawaoka began development of an Ebola vaccine working in close coordination with Alhaji N'jai a toxicologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and his non-profit organization Project 1808, Inc.[1]

Controversial experiment

Kawaoka reinvented a new virus based on H5N1, which he revealed to the public in 2011.[2] For now, no known vaccine has been found. His research was halted by a moratorium issued from the US government in 2014. However, in 2019 he was allowed to resume the research.[3][4]

Dan Brown mentioned the experiment in his novel Inferno.[5]

Recognition

Selected publications

References


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