The 2024 Franco-Taiwanese Scientific Grand Prize was presented to Danny Shang-te Hsu, deputy director of the Institute of Biological Chemistry at Taipei City-based Academia Sinica, and Cyril Hanus, research fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research, for their contributions to the field of molecular biology.
The award was presented by Chen Bing-yu, deputy minister of Taiwan National Science and Technology Council, and Francis-André Wollman, deputy head of international collaboration at the French Academy of Sciences, at the institution’s Fondation Simone et Cino Del Duca Nov. 27 in Paris.
In his opening remarks, Chen said science plays a key role in driving progress in humanity and commended the two sides for promoting research and development collaboration under the shared commitment to freedom of research for the past 30 plus years. He said the government looks forward to expanding the partnership, while Wollman praised the award for honoring outstanding teams on a wide range of topics of mutual interest.
According to the NSTC, Hsu and Hanus collaborated on a project in 2022 focusing on modeling glycoprotein structures. Using advanced techniques like cryo-electron microscopy, they developed a computational method for creating atomistic models of glycosylated protein structures. Their research provided significant insights into how viruses identify their hosts and avoid attack by immune systems.
The council said that during the event the two sides concluded a pact to amend the prize money, qualifications and research scope of the award in order to attract more applicants.
While in the EU member state, the deputy minister met with senior officials from the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the French National Research Agency to discuss directions for future cooperation. He also visited innovative startups and organizations for exchanges on key areas such as artificial intelligence, green energy, semiconductors and space technology. (SFC-E)
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