Forty years after the identification of the AIDS virus (HIV), the Institut Pasteur honored Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, co-discoverer of HIV with Prof. Luc Montagnier in 1983, both Nobel Prize winners in 2008. Through this exceptional researcher, we celebrated the commitment and fight for life of all players involved in the fight against HIV-AIDS. A short film retracing the 40 years that separate us from this great scientific breakthrough will be broadcasted in cinemas across France, and on social networks, starting from June 7.
To mark the anniversary of the discovery of HIV in 1983, the Institut Pasteur has decided to retrace the 40 years since this major scientific breakthrough (see below).
On May 20, 1983, the AIDS virus was officially identified at the Institut Pasteur. 40 years after, the day of June 1, 2023 honored retrovirologist Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, co-discoverer of HIV with Prof. Luc Montagnier and Jean-Claude Chermann in 1983. Luc Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2008.
The ceremony celebrated the commitment of all players involved in the fight against HIV-AIDS. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi never ceases to point out how her collaboration with patients, associations and nurses has changed the way she does research.
June 1, 2023: honouring Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and an entire committed community
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi's fellow researchers, who were already present in 1983 or who joined her later, hailed her as both an exceptional researcher and a great lady. They emphasized how the discovery of HIV was the starting point for a fight for life that continues to this day.
During the afternoon, in the Institut Pasteur's auditorium, a succession of people involved in the fight against HIV came one after another. Scientists, patients and associations spoke movingly of their collaboration with Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, through anecdotes never heard before.
That same evening, two round-tables discussion were held at Ground Control, a cultural venue located next to the Gare de Lyon in Paris, an event open to a wider audience. The first round-table highlighted the interactions between researchers, patients, and nurses. A second round-table took the form of an interactive quiz. The public answered the questions, and three scientists of the Institut Pasteur commented on the answers, shedding light on previous and future research.
Several associations, such as AIDES, Act Up-Paris and Les Petits Bonheurs, were present to inform and raise awareness. The evening ended on a high note with a concert by Corine.
From June 7 to 20, 2023: retracing the 40 years since the identification of HIV
To mark the anniversary of the discovery of HIV in 1983,the Institut Pasteur has also decided to retrace the 40 years that separate us from this great scientific breakthrough.
To relive the emotion of this shared story that brings us together, when we know how much HIV-AIDS has excluded, isolated and discriminated - and how much it continues to do so, in France and around the world.
To understand the decisive role played by people, associations and organizations involved in the fight against the HIV epidemic, but also, beyond this disease, in the emergence of a new way of practicing medicine and caring for others.
To re-establish, finally, a truth: science is a struggle that is embedded in life, suffering and the mobilization of societies.
Because this battle is not over, the story of HIV-AIDS continues today.
"HIV research is a fight for life. It takes time. But it will win in the end."
This is the message of the short film (see top of page) broadcasted in cinemas from June 7, in over 1,300 cinemas in France, and until June 20, 2023, and promoted on Facebook and Instagram.
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