The 2004 Prize has been awarded to Marina Cavazzana-Calvo and Philippe Charneau for contributions in the field of Applied Research in ‘Gene and/or Cellular Therapy’. Marina CAVAZZANA-CALVO Hôpital Necker, Paris, France The work of Marina Cavazzana-Calvo, through rigorous preclinical development, has demonstrated the interest of gene and cellular therapies for the treatment of inherited diseases of the immune system in absence of a compatible familial donor. This work has most notably resulted in the development of two clinical protocols led within the pediatric immuno-hematology service of the Necker hospital : a clinical trial targetting Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) linked to the chromosome X, an inherited disease, fatal in early life for afflicted newborns and another trial targetting the acceleration of reconstituted immunity following a bone marrow graft (hematopoietic stem cells) derived from a partially compatible family donor. The research of Marina Cavazzana-Calvo is internationally renown and has been distinguished with numerous scientific awards. |