Mr. Speaker, as a proud Albertan and an alumnus of the University of Alberta, it is my great honour to rise in recognition of University of Alberta virologist Dr. Michael Houghton. Earlier this month, Dr. Houghton was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the hepatitis C virus.
Hepatitis C is a global pandemic, but now, thanks to Dr. Houghton and his subsequent work developing blood tests and therapeutics for the disease, millions of people have a new lease on life and our blood supply is safer. It is an incredible achievement and a wonderful story, and it does not end there. Dr. Houghton has created a vaccine against hepatitis C, which is now being tested, and he is leading efforts to create a COVID-19 vaccine.
I congratulate Dr. Houghton. He has made us all proud. We are very thankful for his work.