governance

Professor Olivier Schwartz appointed as Scientific Director of the Institut Pasteur

portrait_olivier_schwartz_vertical_clair.jpg "Dear Colleagues and Friends,
 
I am delighted to announce that Professor Olivier Schwartz has been appointed as Scientific Director of the Institut Pasteur. This appointment has been made in connection with the new five-year strategic plan for the Institut Pasteur which we have been working on since I recently took office as President.

Olivier Schwartz's main role will be to support the senior management team with the day-to-day running of the Institut Pasteur's scientific activities and the development of its scientific policy. He will be a member of the Executive Board (CODIR) and will chair the Scientific Management Board (CODIS). He will also be responsible for consulting and liaising with the Scientific Council and following up on any subsequent recommendations and decisions adopted by the senior management. He will start work on February 15, 2018.
 
His operational tasks will be as follows:

  • To bring the 2014-2018 strategic plan to a close and carry out a scientific assessment of its results;

  • To work with the Board of Scientific Department Directors (CDD) to make sure the departments run smoothly and oversee any developments;

  • To coordinate discussions with the CDD on new research areas;

  • To contribute to the development and drafting of the new five-year strategic plan on the basis of these discussions and the research topics already identified: emerging infectious diseases, resistance to antimicrobial agents and neurodegenrative diseases;

  • To encourage cooperation between the scientific activities of the Institut Pasteur International Network and those of the Institut Pasteur in Paris;

  • To contribute to the implementation and funding of international scientific programs (not related to the International Network);

  • To liaise with national research agencies;

  • To make sure an appropriate balance is maintained between fundamental and translational research.

Olivier Schwartz is a pharmacist and graduate of Paris 7 University (where he obtained his PhD in Virology and accreditation to supervise research). He is a Professor at the Institut Pasteur and has directed the Virus and Immunity Unit since 2007. He has authored more than 160 publications, specializing in HIV replication, the interaction between HIV and the immune system and the pathophysiology of HIV infection. His research also looks at the replication of other viruses, such as the Zika virus.

He has received scientific awards for his research, including the Louis Tartois Prize from the French Foundation for Medical Research (FRM) and the Fondation de France's Georges Zermati Prize, awarded by the City of Paris. He is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).

Olivier Schwartz has served as a member (from 2007 to 2011) and Chairman (from 2009 to 2011) of the Institut Pasteur Scientific Council, as Director of the Virology Department from 2012 to 2014, and as a member of the Board of Scientific Advisors to the President of the Institut Pasteur from 2014 to 2017. He is also a member of the Institut Pasteur General Meeting Board. He has sat and currently sits on several scientific advisory boards (ANRS, Sidaction and the scientific advisory boards of various international institutes).

In addition to his scientific activities, Olivier Schwartz has also served as co-curator or scientific advisor for a number of artistic exhibitions showcasing the relationship between art and science: "Pasteur Spirit" in 2010 and "Sans Gène" in 2012 with Fabrice Hyber; "Vaincre le virus" at the Centre Pompidou in 2016 with Barthélémy Toguo; and "Dans la bibliothèque de Pasteur" in 2017 with Hervé Di Rosa. He is also one of the initiators of the "Organoid-Pasteur" project.
 
The management team and myself, together with the new Scientific Director, are all firmly committed to continue promoting and advancing the excellence of our institute.

Kind regards,"

Prof. Stewart Cole,
President

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