Michael Houghton

Michael Houghton, PhD, is a Professor at the Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He was the first to successfully identify and clone the Hepatitis C virus. His professional interests are the Hepatitis C virus, the Hepatitis B virus, and exploring if other chronic illnesses are caused or exacerbated by an acute or persistent viral infection.

Dr. Houghton and his virology team are working on a biomarker for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) using diagnostic cytokine patterns (specifically circulating interleukin (IL)-16, IL-7, and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGF-A). The team is also investigating if a novel pathogen is associated with a cluster of CFS patients.

Awards

 * Canada Excellence Research Chair in Virology at the University of Alberta
 * 2000, Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee
Dr. Houghton served as a voting member of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee from 05/10/10 to 05/10/14.

Notable studies

 * 2011, No Evidence for XMRV Nucleic Acids, Infectious Virus or Anti-XMRV Antibodies in Canadian Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Full Text)
 * 2012, Minimum data elements for research reports on CFS. (Full text)
 * 2016, Reductions in circulating levels of IL-16, IL-7 and VEGF-A in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (Full text)

Learn more

 * Faculty Bio page
 * Canada Excellence Research Chairs