The Louis-Jeantet Foundation announces its 2026 prizes

The 2026 Louis-Jeantet Foundation Prizes are awarded to YASMINE BELKAID (2026 Collen-Jeantet Prize in Translational Medicine), Director General of the Institut Pasteur, Paris, France, and to Fiona Doetsch (2026 Louis Jeantet Prize in Medicine), Professor at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland.

© Fondation Louis-Jeantet. Left, Yasmine Belkaid, and right, Fiona Doetsch

2026 Collen-Jeantet Prize for Translational Medicine

YASMINE BELKAID, an Algerian, American and French scientist, is awarded the 2026 Collen-Jeantet Prize for Translational Medicine for illuminating the complex interplay between the microbiota, nutrition, infection, and the immune system, transforming our understanding of host defence and tissue homeostasis. Yasmine Belkaid’s work explores fundamental mechanisms that regulate tissue structural and functional integrity and host immune responses. She uncovered key roles for the microbiota and dietary factors in the control of immunity and protection from pathogens.

2026 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine

FIONA DOETSCH, a Canadian scientist, is awarded the 2026 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine for discovering the identity of neural stem cells in the adult mammalian brain and for demonstrating that they enable mammals to adapt to specific physiological states. Fiona Doetsch's work has shown that neural stem cells in the adult mammalian brain are not only shaped by their local environment but are also dynamically orchestrated by distant physiological signals, through a process of “neurogenesis on demand”. Her findings reveal a new level of brain plasticity, with major implications for brain repair and regeneration.

The Louis-Jeantet Prizes

Each year, the Louis-Jeantet Foundation awards two prizes to leading researchers working in one of the member countries of the Council of Europe. The Foundation's prizes encourage scientific excellence. The Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine rewards work in both basic and clinical areas of biomedical research. The Collen-Jeantet Prize for Translational Medicine, generously supported by the Désiré Collen Stichting, rewards work in areas of biomedical research with direct practical relevance to the fight against diseases that threaten humanity.

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