Dr. Charles Rice
“A lot of what you can…explore in science and in virology especially, has do with with the techniques…that are available and in hand.”
Dr. Rice, Virology Unmasked, 2026
Dr. Charles Rice is a world renowned RNA virologist. Dr. Rice’s impressive career started at UC Davis studying development with Dr. Dennis Barret. He did his PhD in the lab of Drs. Ellen and James Strauss at Cal Tech. There he was given a large amount of freedom to conduct experiments and to genotype mosquito-spread viruses including Sindbis, a rare but potentially deadly alphavirus, and orthoflaviviruses such as yellow fever virus (YFV). After his PhD, Dr. Rice did a short stint at Australia National University working with Dr. Lynn Dalgaro, who would co-discover the Shine–Dalgarno sequence, a site important for turning DNA into protein. Dr. Rice next went to Washington University in St. Louis where he published a paper detailing how to produce infectious RNA from a molecular clone of YFV, essential for many future flavivirus studies. Hepatitis viruses cause liver damage, chronic disease, and even death. In 1989, there was something in the blood supply, a mysterious pathogen called Non-A, non-B hepatitis, leading to liver damage and cancer, and was infecting an average of 230,000 Americans per year in the 1980s. Dr. Rice noticed that this new virus, hepatitis C virus (HCV), which had been identified and discovered by Dr. Alter and Dr. Houghton, looked a lot like YFV at the genome level, meaning that Dr. Rice had the molecular experience to push HCV research forward. Dr. Rice got to work studying a virus which for which there was no infectious molecular clone and which could not replicate in the lab, an almost impossible challenge. In 1997, his lab created the first infectious clone of HCV and tested it in chimpanzees. Drs. Atler, Houghton, and Rice would win the 2020 Nobel prize together for this work. Then, in 1999, Dr. Bartenschlager made a replicon system which Dr. Rice’s lab then used to find mutations which increased HCV replication even more . In 2001, Dr. Rice moved his lab to The Rockefeller University and by 2005, his lab along with many collaborators had created the first HCV infectious cell culture system, a huge breakthrough. Dr. Rice continued this work by creating a humanized mouse model of HCV for further in-vivo testing. Dr. Rice has continued to advance virology. Recent research in his lab has focused on Hepatitis B virus and antiviral immune memory.
Devoted decades to decoding the molecular secrets of RNA viruses
- Explored alphaviruses, orthoflaviviruses, hepatitis viruses, and other RNA viruses like Influenza A and SARS-COV-2
- One of three scientists awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus
- Proved that infection of the HCV alone causes hepatitis
- Shared the prize with colleagues Dr. Harvey Alter and Dr. Micheal Houghton
- Contributed to establishing cell culture and animal models which allow HCV to be studied in the lab
- Persisted despite more than 10 years of set backs
- Advanced science through years of service
- Edited numerous journals including Journal of Experimental Medicine, Journal of Virology, and PLoS Pathogens (2005 – current)
- Mentored students and gave innumerable keynote / named lectures
- Consulted with various organizations including Apath (as a founder), Jackson Laboratories, and Pfizer
Nearly 600 Papers Published
- Most cited paper: Efficient Initiation of HCV RNA Replication in Cell Culture (December, 2000), cited by nearly 1900
- First 1st author paper: Nucleotide sequence of the 26S mRNA of Sindbis virus and deduced sequence of the encoded virus structural proteins. (April, 1981)
- Most recent contribution to a paper: Apolipoproteins in HBV infection: ApoC1 links HBV entry, morphogenesis, and cholesterol homeostasis (October, 2026)
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“It’s a frustrating time for scientists…and its especially frustrating, because the tools that we have today (to do science) are just… mind blowing.”
Dr. Rice discussing doing science in the current environment, Virology Unmasked, 2026
Page by Molly Cavanaugh, podcast editing by Dr. Larissa Thackray