Dr Hideki Ebihara

Dr Hideki Ebihara, PhD, is the Director of the Department of Virology 1 at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan Institute for Health Security, and a leading expert in high-consequence viral pathogens. He earned his PhD from Hokkaido University, focusing on hantavirus pathogenesis, and later trained in molecular virology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the U.S. Dr Ebihara received advanced BSL-4 research training at the National Microbiology Laboratory of the Public Health Agency of Canada.   

At the National Institutes of Health, he was at the forefront of research on Ebola virus, other hemorrhagic fever viruses, and arthropod-borne viruses as Unit Chief in the Laboratory of Virology at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. His work advanced understanding of viral pathogenesis, the development of animal models and countermeasures, including antivirals and vaccines. At Mayo Clinic, he conducted research on Ebola and arboviruses, participated in the COVID-19 Task Force, and helped establish the BSL-3 program.  

Currently, Dr Ebihara leads national efforts in infection control, research, and development for viral hemorrhagic fevers, poxvirus infections, rabies, and arboviruses while overseeing national reference laboratory functions and quality control for vaccines such as smallpox, Japanese encephalitis, and rabies.