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

Selected publications