Nobel Prize Laureate, Harvey J. Alter, Ph.D.
Dr. Alter is a co-winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus. Dr. Alter earned his medical degree at the University of Rochester Medical School and trained in internal medicine at Strong Memorial Hospital and at the University Hospitals of Seattle. In 1961, he went to the National Institutes of Health as a clinical associate. He then spent several years with Georgetown University, returning to NIH in 1969 to join the Clinical Center's Department of Transfusion Medicine as a senior investigator becoming Chief of the Infectious Diseases Section and Associate Director of Research in the Department of Transfusion Medicine at the NIH Clinical Center.
Dr. Alter co-discovered the Australia antigen, a key to detecting hepatitis B virus. Later, he spearheaded a project at the Clinical Center that created a storehouse of blood samples used to uncover the causes and reduce the risk of transfusion-associated hepatitis. He was principal investigator on studies that identified non-A, non-B hepatitis, now called hepatitis C. His work was instrumental in providing the scientific basis for instituting blood donor screening programs that have decreased the incidence of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis to near zero.
In 2013, Dr. Alter was honored with the distinguished Canada Gairdner International Award for his critical contribution to the discovery and isolation of the hepatitis C virus, which has led to development of new diagnostic and therapeutic agents and for his key role in reducing the risk of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis.
In 2000, Dr. Alter was awarded the prestigious Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award and in 2002, he became the first Clinical Center scientist elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and in that same year was elected to the Institute of Medicine. Only a small number of scientists nationally are elected to both these scientific societies.
In 2008, he was appointed as an NIH Distinguished Investigator. He is one of only 23 NIH scientists to receive this designation.
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Bruce Witte Distinguished Lecturer
The Witte Lectureship was established by HBF Co-founders, Janine and Paul Witte, in re-membrance of their son, to allow for a distinguished leader in the field to visit the Hepatitis B Foundation & Blumberg Institute to make a presentation and meet with scientists and public health leaders. It is the HBF's most important named lecture. Previous Witte Lecturers include: Frank Chisari, Charles Rice, John Taylor, John Gerin, Raymond Schinazi, Raymond Dwek, Rafi Ahmed, Adrian DiBisceglie, Steve Locarnini, Dennis Liotta, John Martin, Stanley Lemon and Marion Peters.
Harvey J. Alter, Ph.D.
Seminar Speaker