A concerted campaign to defend research!

The 2019 edition of Pasteurdon is just around the corner!

Building on the impact of last year's Pasteurdon, for this edition the Institut Pasteur will repeat its message with renewed vigor as it appeals for support to defend research. For more than 130 years, the Institut Pasteur has been tenaciously leading the fight against threats to human health – infectious diseases like Zika and Ebola, antibiotic resistance, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer and many more. It is increasingly important to raise awareness of the need for funds to support scientists' work. If the Institut Pasteur is to continue making major scientific discoveries, it needs public support more than ever. And Pasteurdon 2019 will help spread the message!

From October 9 to 13, the Institut Pasteur will be flying the flag for research and for those who best embody it – the scientists who lead the battle day in, day out. This year, a pair of scientists will lend their faces to the Pasteurdon appeal – they will feature in the 2019 visual and in the "Defending research together" film, which will be broadcast on television channels throughout Pasteurdon weekend. In the film, pieces of equipment traditionally found in laboratories – test tubes, beakers and Petri dishes – are seen shattering into pieces then being put together again, a powerful image that emphasizes the urgent need for action to give medical research the resources it requires to move forward.

"Defending research together!" – the campaign encourages us all to step up and support research, in the interests of progress and for the future of humanity!