Professor Olivier Schwartz has been appointed as Scientific Director of the Institut Pasteur on a proposal from the President, Professor Stewart Cole, and following a decision by the Institut Pasteur Board of Directors. He will take office on February 15, 2018.
The Institut Pasteur is pleased to announce that Professor Olivier Schwartz has been appointed as its Scientific Director. This appointment has been made in connection with preparations for the Institut Pasteur's new five-year strategic plan, which have been under way since Stewart Cole recently took office as President. Olivier Schwartz will report directly to the President. His main role will be to support the President in the day-to-day running of the Institut Pasteur's scientific activities and the development of its scientific policy.
As a member of the Executive Board, he will support the development of the scientific departments and coordinate discussions on new research areas introduced at the Institut Pasteur. He will contribute to the development of the 2019-2023 strategic plan on the basis of the research topics already identified: emerging infectious diseases, resistance to antimicrobial agents and neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, the Scientific Director will be responsible for making 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 various 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 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).
Olivier Schwartz has also been 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, as well as the "Organoid-Pasteur" project.
Photo : Françoise Porrot DR.
