Some Institut Pasteur scientists rewarded

• Pierre-Marie Lledo awarded by the Spoelberch Foundation

The Roger de Spoelberch Foundation, based in Geneva, was set up to fund and promote research and assistance in the area of neurodegenerative diseases in general, with a particular focus on some specific psychiatric diseases that have a severe impact on human behavior, such as schizophrenia.

To achieve its missions, the Foundation is active in several areas. It is particularly keen to promote medical and scientific research to speed up the discovery of new methods to combat these diseases. To this end, the Foundation gives an annual award known as the Roger de Spoelberch Prize for a clinical and fundamental scientific research project in the area of neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases.

This year, Pierre-Marie Lledo, Director of the Neuroscience Department and Head of the Perception and Olfactory Memory Unit, was selected to receive this award.

• Patrick Forterre and David Prangishvili elected members of the European Academy of Microbiology

The European Academy of Microbiology (EAM), led by Prof. Philippe Sansonetti, is an initiative of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS). Its mission is to promote excellence in microbiology in Europe through targeted programs and activities. Members of the academy are elected through a highly selective, peer-reviewed process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology.

EAM membership is composed of approximately 100 members, among which nine Pasteurian scientists. This year, Patrick Forterre and David Prangishvili (unité Biologie moléculaire chez les extrêmophiles) have been elected as news members.

• Thomas Bourgeron elected as a new member of Academia Europaea

Academia Europaea was set up in 1988 in Cambridge as a European non-governmental association for the promotion of education and research. It currently has close to 3,500 expert members from 35 European countries and 8 non-European countries specializing in a wide variety of fields including social science, medicine, economics, law, literature and mathematics.

In April, Thomas Bourgeron, Head of the Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions Unit and a member of the Institut Pasteur's Scientific Advisory Board, was elected as a new member of Academia Europaea in recognition of his work and his contribution to European research.

Two members of the unit directed by Thomas Bourgeron have also been recognized for their research: Roberto Toro was a finalist in the Open Science Prize, and Christopher Gillberg, a Psychiatry Professor associated with the laboratory, recently received the prestigious INSAR Lifetime Achievement Award.