The 7th Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier Prize has just been awarded to Prof. Catherine Lubetzki, Head of the University Medical Neuroscience Department of AP-HP Sorbonne University and Medical Director of the Paris Brain Institute. This international prize, dedicated this year to neurodegenerative pathologies, rewards the career of the clinical researcher, dedicated to the myelin regeneration in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that currently affects 50 to 300 people in 100,000 (1), for which preventing the progression of disability remains a therapeutic challenge.
For more than 30 years, Catherine Lubetzki and her team’s research has focused on the repair mechanisms of the central nervous system in patients with multiple sclerosis. In particular, they have made it possible to develop experimental models, understand the mechanisms involved and identify therapeutic targets leading to the introduction of clinical trials. In addition, the imaging work carried out has revealed inter-individual heterogeneity in myelin repair capacities.
The Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier Prize will be awarded to the research team “Remyelination in multiple sclerosis: from biology to clinical translation” and officially presented to the clinical researcher on December 14 during a ceremony at the Collège de France (Paris), preceded by a symposium on neurodegenerative diseases.
“I am very honored to receive the Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier Prize, which rewards the work of an entire team of clinician-researchers. We are very proud of this award and it encourages us to continue our research”
1 – Lubetzki C, Zalc B, Williams A, Stadelmann C, Stankoff B. Remyelination in multiple sclerosis: from basic science to clinical translation. Lancet Neurol. 2020 Aug;19(8):678-688. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(20)30140-X. PMID: 32702337.