An American biochemist whose research has contributed to advances in the treatment of coronavirus and HIV has won this year's Wolf Prize, a renowned Israeli award in the fields of science and art.
Pamela Bjorkman of the California Institute of Technology was awarded the prize for “bringing new momentum to the fight against infectious diseases,” the Wolf Foundation, which administers the award, said Monday.
The foundation noted that Ms Bjorkman's research “has unlocked the secrets of how the immune system identifies and fights pathogens, leading to innovative ways to combat some of the most dangerous viruses to humanity.”
This year, eight other laureates also received the prize, which has been awarded annually for 47 years. Many of the recipients of the award have gone on to become Nobel laureates.
Ms. Bjorkman was born in Oregon and educated at the University of Oregon, Harvard and Stanford before moving to the California Institute of Technology in 1989, where she began her teaching career.
Her research focuses on how the immune system recognizes invading pathogens.
The foundation says it has opened the door to understanding strategies for T-cell recognition and immunization against HIV. T-cells are white blood cells that play an important role in fighting disease.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, she has been developing a new strategy to create immunogens that induce the production of specific antibodies against coronaviruses.
“Pamela Björkman’s work opens the door to a new rational strategy for developing future vaccines that will help solve humanity’s greatest immunization challenges,” the foundation said.
This year's architecture prize went to Chinese architect Tiantian Xu for her projects in rural China, which the prize committee said “have transformed villages across the country in economic, social and cultural terms.”
Ms. Xu studied architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design before returning to China, founding her company and working on numerous community projects that promote economic development in villages, the foundation said.
These include a bridge connecting two villages separated by flooding, tofu and brown sugar factories, and the restoration of abandoned quarries.
Her approach has been praised as “innovative in rural development, in contrast to the broad, one-size-fits-all strategies that have characterized China's urban expansion.”
Other winners of this year's award include Jeff
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
