Awardees
The Distinguished Award in Hepatitis B Research
The Distinguished Award in Hepatitis B Research is given annually during the International HBV Meeting to recognize HBV and HDV researchers who have made seminal and long-lasting contributions to the study of HBV and HDV.
The primary selection criteria are:
- Seminal scholarly contributions to the field of HBV/HDV research, as judged by the impact of publications.
- Long-standing member of the HBV/HDV research community, who is recognized as a prominent leader, with a large body of work that has made continuous contributions to the field.
Secondary selection criteria are:
- Strong commitment to serve, build and support the HBV/HDV research community, as recognized by various non-research contributions to the field.
- Frequent participation in the annual International HBV Meeting.
Recipients
John Taylor, PhD (2025)
Dr. John Taylor made foundational contributions to our understanding of HDV molecular virology and replication.
Dr. Taylor’s team contributed fundamental insights into understanding the small RNA genome of hepatitis delta virus and its mechanism of replication. A unique ribozyme was found on both the RNA genome and its complement, the antigenome. His lab used greater than full-length infectious cDNA clones for HDV to determine many of the roles of the two species of delta antigen. The small delta antigen proved essential for replication, but during replication, site-specific RNA editing allowed the synthesis of the large delta antigen. These studies not only advanced basic science for HDV, but laid the groundwork for rational development of ant-HDV therapeutics.
Wenhui Li, PhD (2024)
Dr. Wenhui Li was honored for his transformational discovery of NTCP as the primary HBV entry receptor and studies exploiting this breakthrough.
Wenhui Li is an investigator at the National Institute of Biological Sciences (NIBS), and a professor at the Tsinghua Institute of Multidisciplinary Biomedical Research, in Beijing, China.
Dr. Li and his team discovered that the sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) is the receptor for HBV and HDV entry into hepatocytes. This pivotal advancement in revealed NTCP as a target for antiviral interventions, and has since enabled development of NTCP-based cell culture systems and novel animal models for studying infections of HBV and HDV.
Luca Guidotti, PhD (2023)
Dr. Luca Guidotti was recognized for his pioneering studies on the mechanisms of viral clearance and organ damage during HBV infection.
Dr. Guidotti is internationally recognized for groundbreaking research on HBV pathogenesis. At Scripps Research in La Jolla with Frank Chisari, he co-developed HBV-replicating transgenic mice and demonstrated that adaptive immunity can eliminate HBV non-cytopathically via antiviral cytokines. He later revealed pivotal roles for antigen non-specific inflammatory cells and platelets in HBV-related liver injury. As Deputy Scientific Director at San Raffaele Hospital and Professor of Pathology at San Raffaele University, Milan, Dr. Guidotti showed that anti-platelet therapy curbs chronic liver inflammation, fibrosis, and cancer, illuminated HBV-specific T cell dynamics through advanced imaging/genomics, and co-developed novel antivirals, including capsid assembly modulators.
Fabien Zoulim, MD/PhD (2022)
Dr. Fabien Zoulim conducted ground-breaking studies integrating clinical and molecular studies of HBV pathogenesis and the mechanism of HBV drug resistance.
Dr. Zoulim is a professor of medicine at Lyon I University and serves as the director of INSERM Unit 1350 PaThLiv “Pathobiology and Therapy of Liver Diseases,” as well as the Lyon Hepatology Institute, “IHU EVEREST.” He trained in Lyon and at the Fox Chase Cancer Center under the mentorship of Christoph Seeger and William Mason. His research focuses on understanding viral persistence to discover and develop innovative treatments for chronic HBV infections. Through his translational research, he has made significant contributions to elucidating the long-term persistence of cccDNA and exploring novel strategies to target it directly, thereby advancing the concept of a functional cure for HBV. As a leader in international HBV initiatives, his collaborative efforts and unwavering dedication to advancing HBV research have made a major impact on the field.
Stephan Urban, PhD (2021)
Dr. Stephan Urban was honored for his contributions to HBV biochemistry, HBV and HDV cellular entry, and development of the first HBV/HDV entry inhibitor, bulevirtide.
Dr. Urban heads the Translational Virology unit at Heidelberg University Hospital’s Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology. His research topics cover elucidation of molecular mechanisms of HBV/HDV host interactions, early and late infection events, identification of hepadnaviral receptors including structural analyses of virus-receptor interactions. His group developed novel cell culture systems and drugs for HBV/HDV and other liver diseases, and studied innate immunity against HBV and HDV. His group developed bulevirtide (BLV)/Hepcludex, the first approved therapy for chronic hepatitis D. He received several honors including the Pettenkofer Prize (2009), DZIF Research Award (2014), Wolfgang-Gerok Prize (2022), Baruch S. Blumberg Prize (2023), a Basel honorary doctorate (2023) and the Chris McGuigan Prize (2025).
Michael Nassal, PhD (2020)
Dr. Michael Nassal was honored for his extensive contributions to understanding HBV molecular virology and reverse transcription.
Dr. Nassal was trained as a bioorganic chemist and was introduced to HBV research in 1986 by Heinz Schaller. Inspired by Bill Mason's and Jesse Summers` work, he and his co-workers combined biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics to elucidate the structures of key HBV molecules, especially the core protein and nucleic acid replication elements. This revealed fundamental mechanisms underlying HBV´s unique replication cycle. He contributed importantly to understanding the phosphorylation-regulated dynamics during HBV nucleocapsid maturation, and his work on covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA, HBV's stable intracellular genome reservoir, spurred broader studies on HBV persistence which may foster development of a cure for chronic hepatitis B.
Marie-Annick Buendia, PhD (2019)
Dr. Marie-Annick Buendia conducted pioneering studies in the molecular biology of HBV and its role in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Dr. Buendia was an early leader in the use of animal models to elucidate HBV’s oncogenic mechanisms. She spearheaded efforts to understand how HBV DNA integration altered the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, leading to hepatocellular carcinoma. Using rodent hepatitis viruses, she demonstrated that insertional mutagenesis near Myc family oncogenes is a key step in oncogenesis. Her team also showed that HBx cooperates with Myc and exerts a pro-apoptotic activity. She developed genetic approaches to identify oncogenic events in hepatocellular carcinoma, and initiated studies that allowed molecular classification of hepatoblastoma.
Wolfram Gerlich, PhD (2018)
Dr. Gerlich made foundational discoveries in HBV molecular biology and diagnostics, including infectivity of Dane particles and the linkage of the viral polymerase protein to the HBV DNA.
Dr. Gerlich’s research interests range from molecular biology to public health. He discovered the 5’ terminal protein of HBV DNA, the preS proteins in the HBV envelope and the HDV proteins. He developed accurate HBsAg, anti-HBc IgM, and HBV DNA tests and the corresponding International Standards. He worked at Universities in Frankfurt, Stanford (California) and Göttingen, and was Professor of Medical Virology in Giessen (Germany) for 20 years. He retired in 2010, but is still active. He has published over 375 articles. Dr. Gerlich has received several scientific awards, including an Honorary Doctoral degree from the University of Latvia.
Frank Chisari, MD (2017)
Dr. Chisari made seminal contributions to the understanding of HBV immunology and pathogenesis, especially using chimpanzees to model HBV infections.
Dr. Chisari’s laboratory is best known for demonstrating that chronic immune-mediated hepatocellular injury and the attendant inflammatory response can cause liver cancer, and for discovering that antiviral CD8-positive cytolytic T cells can purge viruses from infected cells by secreting antiviral cytokines that inhibit viral replication, thus controlling and potentially eradicating the infection without killing the infected cells. Those studies established a new paradigm in viral pathogenesis and immunobiology which has informed the global pursuit of novel immunotherapeutic approaches for the prevention and treatment of chronic HBV and other viral infections.