Born on August 18th, 1932, French professor Luc Montagnier, Nobel prize in medicine 2008, passed away on February 8th, 2022 at the age of 89 years old at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Doctor Gérard Guillaume, one of his most faithful associate, informed us that he left in peace, surrounded by his children.
Prof Luc Montagnier was a biologist and a virologist, but he was above all a man with a remarkable intelligence, who dedicated his life to science. In addition to being awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), he worked during his life alongside the greatest scientific institutes in the world.
Described in 1997 by the New York Times as one of Europe’s most eminent scientists, Prof Montagnier has been throughout his career Emeritus Research Director at the prestigious Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (French National Centre for Scientific Research), professor at the Pasteur Institute, director of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Biology at Queens College at the City University of New York, and director of a research institute at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. For many years, Prof Montagnier also enriched the French Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine with his research, which granted him countless awards and distinctions.
At the autumn of his life, despite his advanced age, he suffered a lot of criticism from members of the scientific community, especially due to his positions on the origins of Covid-19. Yet time seems to prove him right.
Prof Luc Montagnier will be remembered as a man who fought to make science a demanding discipline free from unquestioned dogmas. Naturally, France-Soir was honored to interview him on several occasions, and we would, therefore, like to pay tribute to his memory with all due honors. May the soul of this great man rest in peace.
