A look back at the day of tribute to "Agnes Ullmann, a leading figure in molecular biology"

On Wednesday November 27, the Institut Pasteur held a day of tribute to Agnes Ullmann. This was an opportunity to look back at the extraordinary career of a remarkable woman, talented scientist and internationally acclaimed microbiologist who contributed to the advent of molecular biology.

 

Stewart Cole, President of the Institut Pasteur, opened the commemorative event, attended by more than 200 people, by paying tribute to an "outstanding researcher who performed her managerial and research duties in exemplary fashion" and who left a legacy for the Institut Pasteur "through the state-of-the-art teaching she gave to talented students, her enthusiastic participation in seminars and her support for the younger generation."

 

There is no doubt that the person and scientific achievements of Agnes Ullmann will leave a lasting legacy on the Institut Pasteur. At the event, the President unveiled a number of initiatives that have been taken in honor of the scientist, to ensure that "her memory will live on here": the lecture hall in the Jacques Monod building has been named after her, with a photo display commemorating her life at the entrance for visitors; and a lilac, one of Agnes' favorite flowers, has been planted next to the Émile Duclaux building.

Finally, in accordance with her wishes, a prize named after her will be awarded each year to a young scientist in molecular biology or microbiology. The recipient will be chosen by the jury of the Jacques Monod Prize.

 

Maxime Schwartz, former President of the Institut Pasteur and a member of the organizing committee for the tribute day, then took to the floor to look back at the atypical career of this talented Pasteurian who, in his words, "contributed to the emergence of molecular biology, a discipline that then permeated the entire spectrum of life sciences. She was a woman whose scientific curiosity endured until her final breath. She demonstrated her great courage on several occasions, from her fight against oppression in Hungary during her youth to the strength of character she showed in the last years of her life, despite suffering from various ailments. She was always thinking about others, about the Institut Pasteur, about science, without ever trying to steal the limelight for herself."

 

At this moving event, brought to a close by Philippe Sansonetti, several of Agnes Ullmann's friends and colleagues took the opportunity to deliver their own tribute, focusing both on her remarkable qualities and also on her achievements as a scientist whose research contributed to the Institut Pasteur's international renown.

Further information:

"Obituary: Agnes Ullmann" in Research in microbiology
Read the François Gros' homage (in French)

 

Copyright : Institut Pasteur - François Gardy, Muriel Delepierre