1925-

American physician and researcher noted for his research on the spread of virus infections, especially hepatitis B. In 1963, while examining samples of different ethic groups and their response to disease, Blumberg found an antigen in the serum of an Australian aborigine that he later related to a virus that causes hepatitis B, a serious liver disease. The discovery led to the screening for the virus and, in 1982, a safe and effect vaccine. Blumberg shared the 1976 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Carleton Gajdusek for their work on viruses.