2021 Fondation de France medical awards: Institut Pasteur scientists recognized

Every year, the Fondation de France and several other foundations under its aegis award medical prizes in recognition of the work achieved by research teams and as a means of encouraging promising young researchers.

Several Institut Pasteur scientists were recognized for their work at the 2021 Fondation de France medical awards ceremony:

• Georges Zermati and Thérèse Lebrasseur Prizes

Micheline Fromont-Racine, a scientist in the Genetics of Macromolecular Interactions Unit, and Christophe Beloin, a scientist in the Genetics of Biofilms Unit, have received the Georges Zermati Award for their research, respectively on RNA degradation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and the molecular players involved in the biogenesis and functioning of the bacterial cell envelope and their contribution to biofilm formation and biofilm tolerance to antimicrobials. The Georges Zermati Prize goes to an Institut Pasteur scientist in any discipline.

Mart Krupovic, Head of the Archaeal Virology five-year unit, received the Thérèse Lebrasseur Prize for his research on archaeal viruses and the organization and evolution of the virosphere. This prize recognizes research by an Institut Pasteur scientist that does not involve vivisection.

• Jean Valade Prize

On March 22, Arnaud Fontanet Head of the Epidemiology of Emerging Diseases Research and Expertise Unit, was awarded the Jean Valade Senior Prize for his research on emerging viruses at a dedicated ceremony hosted by scientific journalist Mathieu Vidard. The prize was specifically awarded for his research on emerging viruses, especially betacoronaviruses (SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, et SARS-CoV-2) and the Zika virus.

The Jean Valade Foundation was set up in 1994 under the aegis of the Fondation de France. Each year it awards two prizes for discoveries in the field of medicine that have potential diagnostic, pathophysiological or therapeutic applications. The selection panel is composed of French and/or foreign experts chosen each year in line with the candidates' research topics.

The annual prizes recognize research by one or more French-speaking scientists, including those working outside France.

The Jean Valade Prizes are awarded for either individual or collective research. As well as research on the discovery or use of new clinical and biological data, particular emphasis is placed on research for the development of original investigative studies and on disciplines for which the prizes have rarely been awarded in the past (epidemiological research, psychiatry, etc.).

Find out more about Jean Valade Prize

Find out more about the 2021 Fondation de France medical awards