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Dr.
Luc Montagnier is best known for his 1983 discovery of the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which has been identified as the
cause of AIDS. This discovery led directly to the development
of a test for detecting the presence of HIV in blood samples.
In
the years before the onset of the AIDS epidemic, Montagnier made
many significant discoveries concerning the nature of viruses,
and contributed to the understanding of how viruses can alter
the genetic information of host organisms, thereby significantly
advancing cancer research. His investigation of interferon, one
of the body's defenses against viruses, also opened avenues for
medical cures for viral diseases.
Montagnier
was born in Chabris, near Tours, France. He studied natural sciences
at the University of Poitiers and received his license of sciences
from the University of Paris in 1955. In 1960 he qualified for
his doctorate in medicine at the same university. Montagnier became
research director of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
(CNRS) in 1974 and in 1985 rofessor at the Pasteur Institute.
He is the co-founder of the World Foundation for AIDS Research
and Prevention and co-directs the Program for International Viral
Collaboration. He has received more than 20 major awards, including
the Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur, the Lasker Award, and the
Gairdner prize.
Frederick
Banting
Charles Best
Vannevar Bush
James Collip
Harry Wesley
Coover
Wallace
Coulter
Ray Dolby
Edith Flanigen
Robert Gallo
Ivan Getting
John Gibbon
Lloyd Augustus
Hall
Elias Howe
Charles D.
Kelman
Luc Montagnier
Bernard Oliver
Bradford
Parkinson
Norbert
Rillieux
John Roebling
Claude Shannon
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