• Four Institut Pasteur scientists recognized at the 2025 French Academy of Sciences Awards

Since 1666, the French Academy of Sciences has bestowed awards on both experienced scientists and early career researchers in all research fields. The Academy has five main missions: to encourage scientific life, promote the teaching of science, pass on knowledge, foster international collaboration and offer expertise and advice.

On November 25, the French Academy of Sciences held an official ceremony at the Institut de France to present its awards for 2025. Four Institut Pasteur scientists received awards this year.
 

• Romain Levayer, winner of the Molecular and Cellular Biology, Genomics Medal

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Romain Levayer, Head of the Cell Death and Epithelial Homeostasis Unit, and his team are elucidating the collective mechanisms regulating epithelial cell death and their contribution to the physiological and pathological function of tissues. By using live-cell microscopy, optogenetics, modeling and Drosophila genetics, he wants to develop a comprehensive understanding of cell death to predict which and how many cells will die, and where and when they will die, for any given tissue.

• Pierre-Jean Corringer, winner of the Lamonica Neurology Prize

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This year's Lamonica Neurology Prize was awarded to Pierre-Jean Corringer, Head of the Signaling and Receptor Dynamics Unit, for his research on the channel receptors involved in neuronal communication in the brain. With his team, Pierre-Jean Corringer is elucidating the molecular mechanisms of these proteins at atomic scale, and also generating novel classes of active compounds, small molecules and mini-antibodies with therapeutic potential for psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.
 

• Eduardo Rocha, winner of the Louis Pasteur Medal from the André-Romain Prévot Foundation

The Louis Pasteur Medal is awarded to a French bacteriologist for research that has improved knowledge in microbiology.

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This year's prize goes to Eduardo Rocha, Head of the Microbial Evolutionary Genomics Unit, who is investigating the structure and evolution of bacterial genomes, with a focus on mobile genetic elements, key players in microbial adaptation. His team's research is shedding light on their complex interactions and their impact on functional innovation, from antibiotic resistance to the evolution of bacterial immune systems.
 

•     Hervé Bourhy, winner of the Charles-Louis de Saulses de Freycinet Prize

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Hervé Bourhy had the honor of receiving this year's Charles-Louis de Saulses de Freycinet Prize, which recognizes molecular biology applications aimed at disease prevention or cure.

Hervé Bourhy, Head of the Lyssavirus Epidemiology and Neuropathology Unit, is exploring zoonotic neurotropic viruses, the mechanisms they use to cause infection and spread through the body, how they spread among populations and how they can be controlled. With his team, he is particularly working on rabies and COVID-19, using a One Health approach that combines molecular biology, viral genetics, therapeutic approaches and eco-epidemiological analysis.
 

Find out more about the 2025 French Academy of Sciences awards

Watch or rewatch the 2025 French Academy of Sciences awards ceremony

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• Ten Institut Pasteur scientists on the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list

Each year, Clarivate Analytics (producer of Web of Science), which specializes in analyzing scientific production, publishes a list of the most cited researchers, in other words those who have had a significant influence in 21 research fields by publishing multiple highly cited articles over the past decade.

In 2025, 7,131 scientists were selected on the basis of the number of highly cited articles that they produced over an 11-year period, from January 2014 to December 2024, either in one of the 21 research fields or in several fields if they are involved in cross-field research.

The Highly Cited Researchers list has a significant impact as it serves as a basis for several international rankings, including the Shanghai ranking, in which it counts for 20% of the overall score given to each university.
 

The Institut Pasteur scientists included on the 2025 list are:

• Yasmine Belkaid - Immunology

• Aude Bernheim - Cross-Field

• Benoît Chassaing - Cross-Field

• Aleksandra Deczkowska - Cross-Field

• Gerard Eberl - Immunology

• Mart Krupovic - Microbiology

• Marc Lecuit - Cross-Field

• Jean-Michel Molina* - Cross-Field

• Felix Rey - Cross-Field

• Eduardo Rocha - Cross-Field

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Explore the full Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list 

Find out more about the selection process

* AP-HP affiliation