2021 Banners Waksman
Pascale Cossart, Pasteur Institut and Académie des sciences, received the 2021 Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology.
Cossart is known for her pioneering contributions to the field of cellular microbiology, uncovering a variety of mechanisms that govern the interplay between the pathogenic intracellular bacterium Listeria and its mammalian host, and her many contributions to supporting microbiology worldwide. She is the leading bacteriologist and expert on Listeria monocytogenes, a deadly food-borne pathogen responsible for encephalitis, meningitis, bacteremia, gastroenteritis, and also abortions in pregnant women.
Since 1986, Cossart has investigated how bacterial pathogens interact with mammalian cells during infection. Her pioneering work recorded in detail how bacteria behave in infected hosts by using numerous strategies such as posttranslational modifications, epigenetic modifications and interference with the innate immune system.
Her groundbreaking findings on the bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes have blazed a path for laboratories across the world that study bacterial infectious diseases. Her contributions to the fields of infection biology, cell biology, functional genomics and fundamental microbiology, including RNA-mediated regulations, are remarkable and advance our knowledge on human health.
In addition to her research, Pascale Cossart regularly organizes or co-organizes international meetings and courses and also events and tools for the general public, contributing to the Renaissance of Microbiology internationally.
Established by the Waksman Foundation for Microbiology, the Selman A. Waksman Award is a prize of $20,000 that is presented to recognize a major advance in the field of microbiology.
