Congratulations to Caetano Reis e Sousa (Immunobiology Laboratory, LRI) who was awarded the 2008 Liliane Bettencourt Life Sciences Award. The Award includes €250,000 and is awarded to support a top-level European researcher under the age of 45 working in the field of Life Science. The international Jury for the Award is chaired by Professor Pierre Corvol, Administrator of the Collège de France and member of the French Academy of Sciences.
The Bettencourt Schueller Foundation was created in 1987 by Mrs. Lilian Bettencourt, in memory of her father, the late Eugène Schueller, founder of L'Oréal. Its mission is to encourage entrepreneurship in Sciences, Arts and Social Commitment. In 2008, the Foundation has provided more than 60% of its budget in support of scientific research programs.
Caetano was granted this prestigious award for his research into the understanding of regulation of adaptive immunity by antigen-presenting cells and the innate mechanisms leading to dendritic cell (DC) activation. Among his important contributions is the characterisation of several "pattern-recognition pathways" involved in DC activation by potential pathogens such as viruses and fungi. By combining skilled molecular approaches to dissecting ligand-receptor interactions and intracellular signalling with a highly sophisticated expertise in in vitro and in vivo cellular immunology, he has become a world leader in the field of innate immunity and DC biology.
More information:
Bettencourt Schueller Foundation
Caetano Reis e Sousa's researcher profile.
