This dialog is for question 6 to 9Adam: It's an extraordinary story of people working together and with your cloning of the virus and development of the blood test in 1990, the ability to remove the danger of the disease for millions of people, it's quite extraordinary.

Houghton: Well, thank you very much. You know, at the time of trying to discover Hep C in the '80s, it was a difficult task. And we must have tried 30 different approaches at least over 7 or 8 years, and eventually we got one clone, after screening probably hundreds of millions of clones. So, yes, I work with some great people, without whom I would not have had this success. And we worked very hard, and so a lot of hard work and persistence was part of our success story, for sure.

Adam: When students hear that sort of story, they often ask, "How did you keep going? What kept your belief alive?"

Houghton: Well, you know, I got into microbiology when I was 17 having read about Louis Pasteur's life and his work, so he was my inspiration, and I think trying to discover a major virus is kind of incentive enough, you know. I remember driving to work during those 7 or 8 years where we were frustrated for so long and watching all these new hotels going up around the institution that I worked at, and I was thinking, "Oh well, they just started this big hotel, I'm sure we will have found it by the time it's finished."

Adam: I'm left with an extraordinary vision of measuring the progress of research through the erection of large buildings.

Houghton: [Laughs] It was hard. I was working for a biotech company in California, as you may know, and so biotech companies in the States, they want results, right? And it was a lot of pressure on me to manage the program and to keep it going, with years and years of failure basically.

Adam: Well, you did it! Indeed, indeed. And you're now working on the development of a vaccine.

Houghton: Yes, yes. You know, quickly after we discovered the virus, we developed a blood test, that was the most urgent need to protect the blood supply. And then of course the two big challenges were trying to find therapeutics for the virus, and that took a long time. It took, you know, the whole field and the pharmaceutical industry working for more than 20 years. But eventually, we've got these wonderful drugs now that can cure nearly everybody quite quickly and safely. You know, the way eventually you have to control an epidemic is with a vaccine. After many years of work, I think our field feels that it is now feasible, at least a partially effective vaccine. So yes, I'm at the University of Alberta, I've been working on an improved version that we think has a good chance of success, or at least being partially effective.

Question
6. The virus Hepatitis C was discovered.....
a. a century ago
b. in 1980s
c. in the '90s
d. in the twenty-first century
e. last decade

7. What is the key for Houghton's success?
a. A will to work and self-belief
b. Hard work and persistence
c. A great vision and inspiration
d. Collaboration with other people
e. High spirit and loyalty

8. Where did Houghton work when he researched the virus?
a. At a biotech company
b. At a microbiology lab
c. At a university in the USA
d. At the national library
e. In a big hotel

9. What is Houghton's project right now?
a. Analyzing human blood
b. Cloning Hep C virus
c. Developing the Hep C medicine
d. Discovering a new virus
e. Testing Hep C vaccine​