Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, co-discoverer of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the cause of AIDS, and a 2008 Nobel Laureate in Medicine or Physiology, will give a lecture on October 6, 2010 at Academia Sinica. During the lecture entitled “What can we learn from diverse spectrum of HIV/SIV infections?” Professor Barré-Sinoussi will discuss two prominent models of interest with respect to HIV resistance: human HIV controllers and African Green Monkeys. Members of the media are welcome to attend.

Professor Barré-Sinoussi, a virologist who pioneered the studies into HIV/AIDS, received the Nobel Prize together with Professor Luc Montagnier for their 1983 identification of HIV as the cause of AIDS. The two scientists paved the way for rapid cloning of the HIV-1 genome. This led to identification of important details in the replication cycle of the virus, an understanding of how the virus interacts with its host, and development of methods to diagnose infected patients and screen blood products.

Professor Barré-Sinoussi is currently the director of the Regulations of Retroviral Infections Unit at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France where her team focuses on regulation of HIV/SIV infection. In addition to her scientific research, Professor Barré-Sinoussi has been deeply involved in promoting integration between HIV/AIDS research and action in resource limited countries, in particular through the Pasteur Institute International Network and the coordination of the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS) research programs in Cambodia and Vietnam. Since the 1980s she has been committed to building capacity, training and technology transfers on site in Africa and Asia. Professor Barré-Sinoussi has also contributed to several other AIDS scientific societies, including the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. She will be the president of the International Aids Society in 2012.

Professor Barré-Sinoussi received her Ph.D. in virology from the Pasteur Institute and the University of Sciences in Paris in 1975. In addition to the Nobel Prize, Professor Barré-Sinoussi has received numerous national and international awards, including the Sovac Prize, the Körber Foundation Prize for the Promotion of European Science, the French Academy of Science Prize, the King Faisal International Prize and the International AIDS Society Prize.

        During her visit to Taiwan, as well as her lecture at Academia Sinica, Professor Barré-Sinoussi will also give a lecture at National Yang-Ming University on October 4 and a lecture at National Tsing Hua University on October 5.
Title: What Can We Learn from Diverse Spectrum of HIV/SIV Infections?
Time: 10:30 – 12:00
Date: Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Venue: International Conference Hall, 3F, Building for Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica, No.128, Sec.2, Academia Road, Nangang District, Taipei City  
Sponsor: Sayling Wen Cultural and Educational Foundation
Speaker: Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Regulations of Retroviral Infections Unit, Pasteur Institute
Moderator: Dr. Chi-Huey Wong, President, Academia Sinica
Related Websites:
http://iao.sinica.edu.tw/index.htm