March 10, 2023
Bulletin interne de l'Institut Pasteur
American Academy of Microbiology, Fondation de France awards: several Institut Pasteur scientists recognized
- Two Institut Pasteur scientists elected to Fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology
The American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) is an honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology that is committed to promoting microbiology. It is entirely dedicated to microbiologists and to microbiology as a scientific discipline.
AAM Fellows are elected annually through a highly selective peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology. Being elected as an AAM Fellow demonstrates recognition of the excellence of a scientist's research.
On February 15, two Institut Pasteur scientists were among 65 new Fellows elected by the AAM:
• Guilhem Janbon, Director of the Department of Mycology and Head of the RNA Biology of Fungal Pathogens Unit
• Eduardo Rocha, Director of the Department of genomes and genetics and Head of the Microbial Evolutionary Genomics Unit
- Fondation de France medical awards: several Institut Pasteur scientists recognized
Every year, the Fondation de France and several other foundations under its aegis award medical prizes in recognition of the work achieved by research teams and as a means of encouraging promising young researchers. This year, 17 scientists received awards for their research projects in a wide variety of fields including oncology, ophthalmology, cardiology, orthopedics and hematology.
The laureates include two Institut Pasteur scientists:
• Thérèse Lebrasseur Prize
Pablo Guardado-Calvo, Head of the Structural Biology of Infectious Diseases five-year group, received the Thérèse Lebrasseur Prize for his project on the mechanisms used by viruses to infect target cells and the mechanisms employed by the human immune system to block them. This prize recognizes research by an Institut Pasteur scientist that does not involve vivisection.
• Jacques Monod Prize
Pierre Garcia, a postdoctoral fellow and scientist in the Department of Microbiology, received the Jacques Monod Prize for his research project on the evolution of metabolisms in archaea, a field of great importance for living systems but one that remains largely unknown. This prize goes to an early career scientist who has carried out research on the molecular aspects of cell regulation.