Thomas Bourgeron receives the Jean Valade Award

On March 20, Thomas Bourgeron, Head of the Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions Unit, received the Jean Valade Senior Researcher Award from the Fondation de France at the Medical Research Evening for his entire career and especially his research on child brain development and project on autism: "CONTEXT for promoting participatory research on the genetics of neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodiversity."

This participatory research project will be developed in three phases:

1- Establish an all-round shared knowledge set to guarantee a common understanding of the challenges of autism research.
2- Develop novel tools and materials to better transfer existing knowledge.
3- Co-create new research projects actively incorporating the contributions of people concerned.

Autism research is multidisciplinary and draws on collaboration between diverse fields of expertise. It combines neuroscience and genetics data and also relies on the lived experience of autistic people and their families.

For more information about autism research, read this scientific article, which was co-authored with autistic people, or the book below whose royalties go to autism research.

The Jean Valade Foundation, established in 1994 under the aegis of the Fondation de France, awards two annual prizes that recognize progress in original and innovative French medical research that has resulted or is likely to result in applications in humans.

Find out more about the Jean Valade Award

Find out more about the 2024 Fondation de France awards and view the full list of award winners