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 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 ( hepatoc ...

. He is a professor of virology at the

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

and an adjunct professor at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and

Washington University School of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine (WashU Medicine) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis, located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine shares a ca ...

. At the time of the award he was a faculty at Rockefeller. Rice is a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

and was president of the American Society for Virology from 2002 to 2003. He received the 2016 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, jointly with Ralf F. W. Bartenschlager and Michael J. Sofia. Along with Michael Houghton and Harvey J. Alter, he was awarded the

2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to the American virologists Harvey J. Alter (b. 1935), Michael Houghton (virologist), Michael Houghton (b. 1949) and Charles M. Rice (b. 1952) "for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus." Dur ...

"for the discovery of

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 period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...

virus."

Early life and education

Charles Moen Rice was born on August 25, 1952, in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. Rice graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

with a B.S. in

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

from

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

, in 1974. In 1981, he received his Ph.D. 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, a ...

from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

, where he studied

RNA virus An RNA virus is a virus characterized by a ribonucleic acid (RNA) based genome. The genome can be single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) or double-stranded (Double-stranded RNA, dsRNA). Notable human diseases caused by RNA viruses include influenza, SARS, ...

in the

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...

of James Strauss. He remained at Caltech for four years to do

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

Career

After his postdoctoral work, Rice moved with his research group to the

in 1986, where he remained until 2001. Rice has been the Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Professor at Rockefeller University since 2001. He is also an adjunct professor at Washington University School of Medicine and

. He has served on committees for the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

, and

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

. He was the editor of ''

Journal of Experimental Medicine ''Journal of Experimental Medicine'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Rockefeller University Press that publishes research papers and commentaries on the physiological, pathological, and molecular mechanisms that encompass ...

'' from 2003 to 2007, '' Journal of Virology'' from 2003 to 2008, and ''

PLoS Pathogens ''PLOS Pathogens'' is a peer-reviewed open-access medical journal. All content in ''PLOS Pathogens'' is published under the Creative Commons "by-attribution" license. ''PLOS Pathogens'' began operation in September 2005. It was the fifth journal o ...

'' from 2005 to present. He has been an author of over 400 peer-reviewed publications.

Research

While at Caltech, he was involved in researching the genome of Sindbis virus and the establishment of

flaviviruses ''Flavivirus'', renamed ''Orthoflavivirus'' in 2023, is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family ''Flaviviridae''. The genus includes the West Nile virus, dengue virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, Zika viru ...

as their own family of viruses. The strain of yellow fever virus he used for this work was eventually used for the development of the

yellow fever vaccine Yellow fever vaccine is a vaccine that protects against yellow fever. Yellow fever is a viral infection that occurs in Africa and South America. Most people begin to develop immunity within ten days of vaccination and are 99% protected withi ...

. While exploring Sindbis virus at Washington University in St. Louis, Rice described how he produced infectious flavivirus

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...

in the laboratory in a 1989 paper published in ''The New Biologist''. The paper attracted the attention of Stephen Feinstone who was studying

and suggested that Rice use the technique to develop a vaccine for

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 period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...

. In 1997, Rice cultured the first infectious clone of hepatitis C virus for use in studies on chimpanzees in whom the virus was also endemic. In 2005, Rice was also part of a team that showed that a strain of an acute form of the virus identified in a human patient can be forced to replicate in a laboratory setting. Rice's contribution to hepatitis C research has earned him many awards.

Awards

* 1986 Pew Charitable Trust scholarship * 2004 Elected fellow,

* 2005 Elected member,

* 2005 Elected fellow, American Academy of Microbiology * 2007 M.W. Beijerinck Virology Prize * 2015 Robert Koch Prize * 2016 Artois-Baillet Latour Health Prize * 2016

Lasker Award In 1945 Albert Lasker and Mary Woodard Lasker created the Lasker Awards. Every year since then the award has been given to the living person considered to have made the greatest contribution to medical science or who has demonstrated public ser ...

* 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, acco ...

References

External links

* *
Charles Rice in Hyde Park Civilization on ČT24 15.5.2021
(moderátor Daniel Stach). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Charles M. 1952 births Living people University of California, Davis alumni California Institute of Technology alumni American virologists Recipients of the Lasker–DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award Rockefeller University faculty American Nobel laureates Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Members of the National Academy of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences