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 attempted to develop 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.
Controversial experiment Kawaoka created a new virus based on H5N1, which he revealed to the public in 2011. For now, no known vaccine has been developed. His research was halted by a moratorium issued from the US government in 2014. However, in 2019 he was allowed to resume the research.
Dan Brown mentioned the experiment in his novel Inferno.Dan Burstein, Secrets of Inferno: In the Footsteps of Dante and Dan Brown. Story Plant, 2013.
Recognition 2006 – Robert Koch Prize (with Peter Palese)Robert-Koch-Stiftung: Robert Koch Award . Retrieved 4 July 2014. 2011 – Medal with Purple Ribbon 2013 – Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 2014 – Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award 2015 – Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology 2016 – Japan Academy Prize 2018 – Sir Michael Stoker Prize 2022 – Keio Medical Science Prize 2023 – Person of Cultural Merit
Selected publications
References
External links
Robert Koch Award lecture: New possibilities in the fight against influenza (3 November 2006)