Institut Pasteur scientists among this year's Academy of Sciences prize-winners

Every year, the French Academy of Sciences holds a formal prize-giving ceremony in recognition of scientists who, through the originality and quality of their professional achievements, are contributing to the advancement of knowledge and scientific research.

This year, several Institut Pasteur scientists have been selected for awards by the Academy of Sciences:

 

• Artur Scherf, 2016 winner of the Allianz Foundation Research Prize

The Allianz Foundation Research Prize, set up in 1984, is awarded each year to a scientist responsible for fundamental or clinical research in medicine or biomedicine whose work is being used, or has the potential to be used, in applications that may increase life expectancy through preventive and curative approaches. As well as recognizing the scientist’s achievements, the award is also intended to encourage ongoing research by his or her team.

This prize may be given to scientists working abroad if their research was launched or developed in close cooperation with French teams.

This year's prize goes to Artur Scherf, Head of the Biology of Host-Parasite Interactions Unit, widely considered as one of the pioneers and global leaders in research into the biology of the parasite that causes malaria in humans, Plasmodium falciparum. His work has laid the foundations for new antiparasitic intervention strategies, vaccines and chemical inhibitors.

 

• Didier Ménard, 2016 winner of the Jean-Pierre Lecocq Prize

The biennial Jean-Pierre Lecocq Prize was introduced in 1992 and became a "Grand Prix" in Applied Sciences in 1996. It is awarded to a scientist or a team of scientists who have carried out groundbreaking work in the field of molecular biology and related applications. The laureates may be based in France or abroad, but at least every other prize is awarded to a scientist working in France.

 

The winner of this year's prize is Didier Ménard and his team from the Epidemiology of Malaria Unit at the Institut Pasteur in Cambodia for their development of a test for resistance to artemisinin, a new-generation antimalarial drug. This test represents a major contribution to the fight against malaria.

 

• Sylvain Brisse, 2016 winner of the Louis-Daniel Beauperthuy Prize for molecular and genomic biology

The Louis-Daniel Beauperthuy Prize is a biennial award given to a French or foreign researcher in recognition of epidemiology research that has helped improve the lot of humanity.

This year, the prize was awarded to Sylvain Brisse, head of group in the Microbial Evolutionary Genomics Unit, for his original contribution to epidemiology through his extensive research on the comparative genomics of pathogenic species.