Yoshihiro Kawaoka (河岡 義裕, Kawaoka Yoshihiro, born November 14, 1955) 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.[1]
Controversial experiment
Kawaoka reinvented a new virus based on
H5N1, which he revealed to the public in 2011.[2] 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.[3][4]