To foster its commitment to improving health worldwide, the Biocodex Microbiota Foundation launched in 2021 the Henri Boulard Award.
Henri Boulard is the famous French microbiologist who discovered the yeast Saccharomyces boulardii in the 1920s in Indochina and its virtues against diarrhoea. The Henri Boulard Award is dedicated to improving the human conditions related to microbiota.
Because Gut Microbiota is more and more considered an organ, it deserves to be protected. Some factors such as Diet, Life style, Drugs or Environmental may impact microbiota leading to clinical disorders or diseases.
Actions such as educational programs, water purification, farming projects may preserve the organ integrity and may avoid the disorders associated with microbiota dysfunction.
That is why the Henri Boulard Award wants to support 4 initiatives: 2 related to microbiota and human health, 1 to microbiota and antimicrobial resistance prevention and 1 to microbiota and environmental concerns from 3 geographical areas: Asia, Latin America and Middle East Africa.
Initiatives dedicated to improving the management of disorders associated with microbiota.
Director of Research & Valorization, Antwerp University Hospital, Belgium
Director of Research & Valorization, Antwerp University Hospital, Belgium
Patrick De Boever is a professor at the Centre of Environmental Sciences of Hasselt University since the year 2010. From 2007 until 2020, Patrick De Boever worked as a project manager and team leader at VITO, Flanders’ research and technology organization on cleantech and sustainable development.
He was team leader of the MONA group focusing on retinal image analysis, with a particular interest in machine learning and artificial intelligence for screening and diagnosis in medical applications. He began his research career at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, working on life science research projects commissioned by the European Space Agency from 2001 until 2007. Patrick De Boever focused on microbial contamination and microbial biosafety in harsh environments.
He holds a Ph.D. in Applied Biological Sciences from Ghent University and a Master of Science in Bio-Engineering from that same university. During this period, he investigated the human gut microbiome and its modulation by probiotic lactic acid bacteria.
AMR Patient Survivor and One Health Advocate
AMR Patient Survivor and One Health Advocate
Vanessa is Chair of the WHO Taskforce of AMR Survivors. She became an AMR patient advocate in 2013 after surviving a serious car accident and 10-year facial reconstruction that caused a highly-resistant MRSA infection which she fought for 3 years.
She is a patient advisor to several organisations including the WHO Strategic Technical Advisory Group on AMR (STAG-AMR), the Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Prescribing, Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection, UK (APRHAI) as well as a civil society champion at the Africa CDC. She has won awards for her advocacy including a Woman of Stature (WOS) Woman of the Year Award, FINDdx Voices for Diagnostics Award, and Antibiotic Guardian Award in the Community Communications category organized by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Vanessa is also the founder and executive director of a UK registered charity called The AMR Narrative which focused on patient and public awareness raising and advocacy capacity development for AMR.
Doctor of Medicine, Department of the Infectious Diseases, Pitié Salpétrière Hospital
Doctor of Medicine, Department of the Infectious Diseases, Pitié Salpétrière Hospital
Robert Sebbag is a doctor of medicine who has been attached to the infectious diseases department at the Pitié Salpetriere hospital since 1980.
He has practiced medicine, particularly in Latin America (Bolivia) and Vietnam, for several years.
He was also director of international operations for the French Red Cross for three years.
He is the founder of the NGO Action Contre la Faim (ACF), of which he is still a director.
Granted projects
Community Profiling of the Lung Microbiome and its Role in Disease Modification of Tuberculosis Patients in Lagos
Uncovering Microbiome Pathways Linking Toxoplasmosis and Schizophrenia care in Brazil
Reequiping the gut microbiota through safe drinking water. A community and school-based water purification through the use and distribution of ceramic water pot filters