awards
Heinz Ansmann Prize, "Major advances in French biology research" award, Academia Europaea: recognition for Institut Pasteur scientists
• Michaela Müller-Trutwin, winner of the Heinz Ansmann Prize
On June 10, Michaela Müller-Trutwin, Head of the HIV, Inflammation and Viral Persistence Unit, received the 2025 Heinz Ansmann Prize for her research on the viral diversity, immunology and persistence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).This research has greatly improved our understanding of the origins of HIV infection and paved the way for novel therapeutic approaches.
During the ceremony held in Düsseldorf, Michaela Müller-Trutwin spoke about her research, especially her work demonstrating the key role of chronic inflammation in the progression to AIDS and the role of natural killer cells in controlling viral reservoirs. “To date, there is neither a vaccine nor a cure, which is why it is important to continue research,” said Michaela Müller-Trutwin.
Björn Jensen, Head of the Infectious Diseases Division at Düsseldorf University Hospital, outlined Michaela Müller-Trutwin’s career and key discoveries.
The Heinz Ansmann Foundation, established in 1985, is Germany’s first private foundation dedicated to AIDS, with the aim of promoting scientific research into the origins, treatment and prevention of HIV infection. The Heinz Ansmann Prize is awarded in recognition of outstanding scientific contributions.
• Baptiste Darracq and Maria Lopopolo, winners of the "Major advances in French biology research" award
This year, the "Major advances in French biology research" award from the French Academy of Sciences went to six early career scientists who were first authors and contributed to major advances in biology in France in 2025 or 2026. This year's six laureates include two scientists from the Institut Pasteur, Baptiste Darracq and Maria Lopopolo.
During a special public session held on June 16 in the Grande Salle des Séances at the Institut de France, the winners presented the research that earned them the award, accompanied by their supervisors.
Baptiste Darracq, accompanied by the co-first author of his article, Eloi Littner, and his research supervisor, Céline Loot, Head of the Adaptive Dynamics of Integrons group (in the Bacterial Genome Plasticity Unit led by Didier Mazel), presented his research findings on the topic "The integron: the hidden immunity of bacteria."
Maria Lapopolo, accompanied by the co-first author of her article, Charlotte Avanzi, and her research supervisor, Nicolás Rascovan, Head of the Microbial Paleogenomics Unit, was recognized for her research on the subject "Pre-European contact leprosy in the Americas and its current persistence."
To find out more, see their papers published in Science:
Pre-European contact leprosy in the Americas and its current persistence by Maria Lapopolo
Find out more about the "Major advances in French biology research" award (in French)
• Sylvain Brisse, Romain Koszul and Uwe Maskos: new members of Academia Europaea
Academia Europaea was founded in 1988 in Cambridge as a European non-governmental organization for the promotion of education and research. It currently has nearly 5,500 members, including 88 Nobel laureates, who are leading experts in the fields of physical sciences and technology, biological sciences and medicine, mathematics, the letters and humanities, social and cognitive sciences, economics and the law.
This year, three Institut Pasteur scientists were elected as new members of Academia Europaea in recognition of their achievements and their respective contributions to European research:
Sylvain Brisse, Head of the Biodiversity and Epidemiology of Bacterial Pathogens Unit, for his research on microbial population biology, the emergence of pathogenic microbial strains, vaccine evasion and antimicrobial resistance. Sylvain Brisse's team is also developing applications in the fields of diagnostics and public health, especially universal genotyping systems for strain subtypes and genome taxonomy systems that facilitate international epidemiological monitoring and microevolution studies.
Romain Koszul,Head of the Spatial Regulation of Genomes Unit, for his interdisciplinary contributions to chromosome biology, ranging from research into the universal principles governing 3D functional genome organization in the three domains of life to the development of innovative genomic methods like HiC-scaffolding and metaHiC.
Uwe Maskos, Head of the Integrative Neurobiology of Cholinergic Systems Unit, for his research on the neurobiology of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and their role in tobacco dependence and certain psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer's disease. These results are paving the way for the development of targeted therapies (drugs targeting subunits like α5) to tackle smoking addiction and schizophrenia more effectively.