- New Scientific Director - Pr Joseph Sriyal Malik Peiris, Professor and Chair in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong Kong is appointed Scientific Director. He succeeds Pr Ralf Altmeyer, after the interim period ensured by Dr Béatrice Nal.
Invited to join the University of Hong Kong to help develop a clinical virology laboratory at the Queen Mary Hospital in 1995, Pr Peiris has been at the forefront of the battle against human viral infections that cause respiratory diseases. He played a key role in the discovery of a novel coronavirus which is the aetiological agent of SARS in 2003. He has also made immense contributions to our understanding of avian influenza and to antibody enhancement in Dengue and West Nile virus infection. Pr Malik Peiris was recently elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Society.
- New Chief Executive Officer - Dr Roberto Bruzzone from the Genetics of Sensory Deficit Unit, Institut Pasteur is appointed Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds Pr Ralf Altmeyer, after the interim period ensured by Dr Béatrice Nal.
Dr Bruzzone has joined Institut Pasteur in 1995 and held positions of scientific and administrative leadership. He is an internationally recognized expert in neurology, mainly in direct cell-cell communication through connexin and associated diseases. Dr Bruzzone is co-Director of the Course of Molecular Biology of the Cell in Paris and he is reponsible for the International Training and Teaching within the Institut Pasteur International Network. Dr Roberto Bruzzone is also the Coordinator of the AMSUD-Pasteur, the programme for scientific cooperation between academic institutions in Latin American countries and the Pasteur Institute.
