Charles M. Rice

Facts

Charles M. Rice

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Stefan Bladh

Charles M. Rice
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020

Born: 25 August 1952, Sacramento, CA, USA

Affiliation at the time of the award: Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA

Prize motivation: “for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus”

Prize share: 1/3

Work

Hepatitis is a group of diseases that cause inflammation of the liver. It can be caused by different viruses that are transmitted through blood. After a previously unknown virus, the hepatitis C virus, had been found in hepatitis patients evidence was needed to demonstrate that this virus was alone in causing hepatitis C. In 1997, Charles Rice and other research teams succeeded with this when they were able to show that a region in the virus’s genome was crucial in causing hepatitis. The finding was an important step in developing blood tests and new medications that have saved millions of lives.

To cite this section
MLA style: Charles M. Rice – Facts – 2020. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Fri. 8 Nov 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2020/rice/facts/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.

See them all presented here.

Illustration

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.