17. A Nobel Prize-Winning Career

Meet the man whose discovery has made it possible to save millions of lives. In this episode, Dr. Harvey Alter shares the story of his 50-plus year career and how his research led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus.

Dr. Harvey J. Alter is a Senior Scholar at the National Institute for Health and was just named the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work in discovering the hepatitis C Virus. Dr. Alter’s research focused on patients who developed chronic hepatitis from an unknown agent during blood transfusions. Dr. Alter was also the recipient of the 2015 CDC Foundation Fries Prize for Improving Health, which is an award that recognizes an individual who has made major contributions to improve health.

For more information and full episode transcription go to Contagious Conversations.

Key Takeaways:

[1:35] Dr. Alter shares how he received the news about receiving the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

[2:47] What drew Dr. Alter to the field of health research?

[6:40] Dr. Alter talks about his career.

[10:51] Dr. Alter shares his Aha! moment.

[16:26] Dr. Alter talks about the moment when he realized he was on the cusp of something big.

[18:38] Dr. Alter shares the lessons he learned in times of COVID-19.

[22:45] Dr. Alter talks about the importance of organizations like NIH and CDC.

[25:27] Dr. Alter talks about the main challenges in developing a vaccine for hepatitis C.

[30:18] What is next in Dr. Alter’s career trying to eradicate hepatitis C?

[32:35] What advice does Dr. Alter have for the future public health leaders of America?

Mentioned in This Episode: