Charles Rice, Ph.D.
Hepatitis C expert set for Discovery Lecture
Internationally known virologist Charles Rice, Ph.D., will deliver the next Discovery Lecture on April 30.
Rice, the Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Chair in Virology at Rockefeller University and director of the Center for the Study of Hepatitis C, will discuss “Hepatitis C Virus: Twenty Years Later,” at 2 p.m. in 208 Light Hall.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects approximately 170 million people worldwide, and is a major cause of acute hepatitis and chronic liver disease — including cirrhosis and liver cancer. HCV infection is the leading cause of liver transplantation in the United States. There is no vaccine available.
A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Rice and his colleagues have been examining how HCV and related RNA viruses including yellow fever virus and bovine viral diarrhea virus propagate, how they interact with host cells, and how they cause disease. The investigators recently developed a cell culture full infectious system for HCV, which has opened new opportunities for investigating this pathogen. Ultimately, they aim to develop new tools to fight and prevent HCV-related disease.
Rice's lecture is sponsored by the Lamb Center for Pediatric Research. For a complete schedule of the Discovery Lecture series and archived video of previous lectures, go to www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/discoveryseries.