As we celebrate the bicentenary of Louis Pasteur’s birth, the Institut Pasteur honoured five talented researchers. These prizes, given on January 26, 2023, reward achievements reflecting the “Pasteur ethos” in the fields of biomedical research, public health or innovation. The links between the Carlsberg Foundation and the Institut Pasteur date back to the end of the 19th century
"Louis Pasteur would probably be proud to see us gathered today to celebrate scientific research, two hundred years (and thirty days!) after his birth, on December 27, 1822." This was the introduction from Professor Sir Stewart Cole, President of the Institut Pasteur, during the opening of the scientific awards ceremony for the bicentenary of Louis Pasteur’s birth. This Thursday, January 26, 2023, to close a year filled with commemorations, the Institut Pasteur recognised five researchers. Their achievements reflect the “Pasteur ethos” in the fields of biomedical research, public health or innovation.
The International Jury was presided over by Pascale Cossart, Professor at the Institut Pasteur and honorary perpetual secretary of the French Academy of Sciences, with the Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (2008) and the Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry Emmanuelle Charpentier (2020).
Professor Sir Stewart Cole, President of the Institut Pasteur
The winners of Louis Pasteur Bicentenary Prizes
See the replay (in English) of the Louis Pasteur Bicentenary Prizes Ceremony - YouTube
Senior Scientist Institut Pasteur Prize
Awarded by Philippe Sansonetti, Honorary Professor at the Institut Pasteur (Paris) and Professor Emeritus of the Collège de France.
Winner: Arnaud Fontanet, Head of Epidemiology of Emerging Diseases Unit, at the Institut Pasteur
Field: Guillain-Barré syndrome epidemic associated with Zika virus infection in French Polynesia
Junior Scientist Institut Pasteur Prize
Awarded by Jeffrey W. Almond, Visiting Professor of Microbiology, William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford
Winner: Mélanie Anne Hamon, Head of Chromatin and Infection Unit, at the Institut Pasteur
Field: Pneumococcal infections and the discovery of a mechanism that regulates the response between asymptomatic and severe forms
Pasteur Network Prize
Awarded by Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine (2008)
Winner: Leo Lit Man Poon, co-director of the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, member of the Pasteur Network
Field: Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 delta variant from pet hamsters to humans, leading to onward human-to-human transmission
Learn more: The Pasteur Network LP200 Prize awarded to Leo Poon | Pasteur Network (pasteur-network.org)
Junior Pasteur Alumni Prize
Awarded by Staffan Normark, Physician, Microbiologist and Infectious Disease researcher.
Winner: Serge Mostowy, Professor of Cell Biology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Field: understanding of the mechanism of action of a component of the host cell cytoskeleton (called septin), which recognizes and traps dividing bacterial cells to eliminate them by autophagy.
Senior Pasteur Alumni Prize
Awarded by Alain Fischer, Professor of Pediatric Immunology and French researcher in Medicine and Gene Therapy.
Winner: Bruno Canard, Director of research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (French: Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS).
Field: introduction of viral structural genomics as a scientific field targeting functional enzyme domains from viral non-structural proteins.
Louis Pasteur Bicentenary Prizes, supported by the Carlsberg Foundation
All these Louis Pasteur Bicentenary Prizes are supported by the Carlsberg Foundation, with which the institute has had strong ties since 1877. Jacob Christian Jacobsen, founder of the Carlsberg brewery (1847) then of the Carlsberg Foundation (1875), was a friend of Louis Pasteur. On January 26, 2023, at the Bicentenary Awards Ceremony, the Carlsberg Foundation was represented by:
- Birgitte Skadhauge, VP Carlsberg Research Laboratory | Carlsbergfondet;
"(…) The Carlsberg Foundation is one of the world’s oldest industrial foundations established in 1875 by Brewer Jacobsen and is today the controlling owner of Carlsberg A/S and gives back to society by significant support of science, art and culture. (..) In connection with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Pasteur and to celebrate Professor Pasteur and the power of science, it is a great pleasure for the Carlsberg Foundation to support the Louis Pasteur Bicentenary Prizes for achievements that capture the Pasteur ethos."
- Anders Røed, Managing Director France (Carlsberg Group).
"(…) Carlsberg in France is probably better known as Brasserie Kronenbourg. (…) Our company offers a lot of brands like Carlsberg, Brooklyn, La Bête, Grimbergen and 1664. All of them based on the groundbreaking discoveries of Pasteur and Hansen. For us, it’s essential that we continue to evolve and to innovate."
