on the November 6, 2023
The French Academy of Sciences has awarded its 2023 prizes. Four Université Côte d'Azur researchers are among the winners, notably Véronique Michelet, University Professor at the Nice Institute of Chemistry (Université Côte d'Azur - CNRS) who was the recipient of the Grammaticakis-Neuman Prize for her research work.
These medals are awarded in each discipline to a scientist working in a French laboratory or belonging to a French organization, whatever their nationality. The idea is to honor a scientist who has produced particularly promising results.
On October 17, Véronique Michelet, University Professor at the Nice Institute of Chemistry (Université Côte d'Azur/CNRS) received the Prize Grammaticakis-Neuman/Fondation Grammaticakis awarded by the French Academy of Sciences.
The award recognizes her research work on fundamental and applied aspects of catalysis for the development of new synthesis methodologies for the formation of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. Her activities carried out in collaboration with private and public partners include the synthesis of new odorant or bioactive molecules based on a sustainable chemistry concept. Gold catalysis is one of her favorite research topics.
Three other researchers also won the 2023 Academy of Science awards and will be honored at a ceremony on November 21.
Bruno Antonny, CNRS research director at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology (CNRS/Université Côte d'Azur) is the winner of the Grand Prix Émile Jungfleisch 2023 (€120,000). With his team, he discovered that the membrane curvature provides cellular information, that the lipid PI(4)P is an exchange currency for cholesterol transport, and that polyunsaturated lipids promote membrane deformation. These discoveries demonstrate the importance of membrane shape and composition for cell dynamics.
Hervé Delingette and Maxime Sermesant from Université Côte d'Azur’s Inria center are members of the Computational Cardiology team (Inria Epione, Sophia Antipolis; IHU Liryc, Univ. Bordeaux/CHU Bordeaux/Inserm1045; inHEART, Pessac) which was awarded the Inria - Dassault Systèmes Innovation Prize. The members of the Computational Cardiology team have multidisciplinary skills in medical imaging, cardiology, image processing and digital modeling/simulation, and artificial intelligence. For the past 13 years, these researchers and physicians have been jointly investigating the structural substrate behind heart rhythm disorders. They have developed software that creates a personalized digital twin of a person’s heart, that can be used to better prevent and treat arrhythmias. The technique has been commercialized by the inHEART spin-off and is applied in healthcare in many international hospitals.
