14th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious ...

ESCMID Awards 2004
Young Investigator Awards for Research in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Marc Lecuit, born 1966 in Paris, France
MD, Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Necker University Hospital,
and Pasteur Institute, Paris, France, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to our
understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of Listeria monocytogenes infection based
on laboratory investigations, animal models and human epidemiological studies.
Research Interests
Marc Lecuit’s research is focused on the pathophysiology of human infectious diseases.
As a clinician and a researcher, he is particularly interested in understanding the specific
host and organ tropisms of microbial pathogens, and the mechanisms they deploy to breach
physiological barriers such as the intestinal barrier, the blood-brain barrier and the materno -
f etal barrier. His research has mainly focused on the Listeria model. He has investigated the
molecular mechanism by which this bacterial species enters non-phagocytic cells, and
discovered the species-specificity of Listeria monocytogenes. This led to the generation of a
transgenic mouse model for human listeriosis. His current research focuses on the molecular
mechanisms accounting for microbial central nervous and/or maternofetal tropisms.
A complementary area of Marc Lecuit's interest is the putative infectious origin of orphan
diseases. Recently, he has coordinated a study on the microbial origin of a rare form of
intestinal lymphoma (IPSID) known to respond in its early stages to antibiotics. This led to
the discovery of an association between this type of lymphoma and Campylobacter jejuni.
The two Young Investigator Awards are sponsored by Pfizer Inc.
ISF Award 2004
Tom Sprong, born 1975 in s'Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands
MD, University Medical Centre St Radboud Nijmegen, Department of General Medicine,
in recognition of his excellent poster presented at 14 th ECCMID on the complement
activation during meningococcal disease. His data demonstrate that the initial activation
of the complement system during meningococcal infection is highly correlated with
disease severity and that complement activation occurs via the alternative and lectin
pathways, whereas classical pathway engagement develops only after 24 hours.
Research Interests
Sepsis, complement, cytokines and cytokine receptors and Neisseria meningitis
sponsored by the International Sepsis Forum
page 16 Final Programme