Novartis presents 2010 Immunology prizes at 16th International Congress of Immunology in Kobe

The Novartis 2010 Immunology Prizes were presented at the 16th International Congress of Immunology in Kobe, Japan. Since 1992, the Novartis Prizes for Immunology have been awarded every third year for outstanding contributions to basic and clinical immunology. The prizes recognize individual achievement and provide financial support for further research by the recipients. The prizes are a major feature of the triennial International Congress of Immunology.

Professor Michael Bevan, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, US, was awarded the Basic Immunology Prize for his research on T-cell selection and regulation and memory formation of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells in response to pathogens. His observations have led to a better understanding of how effective memory responses of T-cells - key players in the immune response - are generated. Several strategies underlying immunotherapy and cancer vaccine development are based on Professor Bevan's research.

Professor Charles Dinarello, University of Colorado at Denver, US, and Professor Juerg Tschopp, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, shared the Clinical Immunology Prize for their contributions to the discovery and regulation of Interleukin-1 beta and its biological properties as well as the use of IL-1 beta antagonists for the successful treatment of certain inflammatory diseases such as periodic inflammatory syndromes and gout.

"We are pleased to honor these scientists for their outstanding achievements which have not only lead to a better understanding of the immune system, but also to the development of therapies for immunological diseases," said Professor Dhavalkumar Patel, Head of NIBR Europe and Global Head of the Autoimmunity, Transplantation and Inflammation Disease Area at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR). "The Novartis Immunology Prizes are an integral part of our commitment to and appreciation of scientific innovation."

The winners of this year's prizes were selected by an independent panel of immunology experts chaired by Sir Andrew McMichael of the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK. The Novartis Prizes are each worth CHF 100 000, and may be shared between more than one individual.