On February 10, the AFP news agency reported that French virologist Luc Montagnier has passed away at the age of 89. Montagnier was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2008.
French virologist Luc Montagnier.
Montagnier, alongside French scientist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, was awarded half of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their role in the discovery of the HIV virus. The other half of the prize was awarded to German cancer researcher Harald zur Hausen.
Born in 1932, Montagnier earned his Ph.D. in virology from the University of Paris. He later became the Director of the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention in Paris. In the years leading up to the AIDS pandemic, Montagnier made significant discoveries regarding the nature of the virus and contributed to the understanding of how retroviruses can alter the genetic information of their host organisms.
His research on interferon, one of the body’s defenses against viruses, also paved the way for treatments of viral diseases.
