Yoshihiro Kawaoka

Yoshihiro Kawaoka (河岡 義裕) 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 began development of 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 reinvented a new virus based on H5N1, which he revealed to the public in 2011. For now, no known vaccine has been found. 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.

Recognition

 * 2006 – Robert Koch Prize (with Peter Palese)
 * 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