Charles M. Rice

Charles M. Rice is a 2020 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine whose decades of groundbreaking research helped unlock the mysteries of the hepatitis C virus — work that ultimately led to curative treatments now saving millions of lives worldwide. He holds the Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Chair in Virology at The Rockefeller University in New York City, where he also serves as Scientific and Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Hepatitis C. He is additionally an adjunct professor at Cornell University and Washington University School of Medicine.

Nobel Prize speaker Charles M. Rice shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Harvey J. Alter and Michael Houghton “for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus.” While Alter and Houghton identified the virus itself, Rice’s decisive contribution was demonstrating that HCV alone was sufficient to cause hepatitis — a proof-of-concept that cleared the path for the development of blood screening tests and antiviral therapies. His laboratory produced the first infectious molecular clone of HCV, identified a critical conserved RNA element at the 3′ terminus of the HCV genome, and pioneered the cell culture systems that enabled the pharmaceutical industry to develop and validate direct-acting antiviral drugs.

Before arriving at Rockefeller in 2001, Rice spent 14 years on the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, where he built his reputation studying flaviviruses and alphaviruses. He earned his Ph.D. from Caltech in 1981 under James Strauss, a formative experience that introduced him to RNA virology and laid the methodological foundation for his later work on hepatitis C. His career spans more than five hundred peer-reviewed publications across virology, immunology, and infectious disease, with ongoing research now extending into SARS-CoV-2, dengue, Zika, and other flaviviruses.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Rice’s recognition from the Nobel Committee affirmed the transformative public health value of his research. Hepatitis C infects an estimated 170 million people globally, causing chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and cancer. The combination drug therapies made possible by the scientific foundations Rice helped establish can now cure the infection in the vast majority of patients within two to three months. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a past President of the American Society for Virology, and a recipient of the 2016 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, among numerous other honors including the M.W. Beijernick, Robert Koch, and InBev Baillet-Latour prizes.

As a speaker, Charles M. Rice brings rare scientific depth and genuine intellectual humility to conversations about virology, pandemic preparedness, drug development, and the long arc of biomedical discovery. His talks illuminate how curiosity-driven basic research — often pursued without a clear commercial endpoint — can produce breakthroughs that redefine public health on a global scale. Senior audiences in healthcare, pharma, government, and science policy walk away with a sharper understanding of how to structure research ecosystems, invest in long-term science, and apply the lessons of HCV to the next major viral threat.