Professor Luc Montagnier graduated in both Medicine and Biological Sciences at the University of Paris. At the age of 23, he became Assistant at this University. After a fruitful post-doctoral stay in two British laboratories, Montagnier spent most of his scientific carrier in two renowned French Institutions, the Institut Curie and for almost 30 years at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Within the new Department of Virology of the latter Institute, he founded the Viral Oncology Research Unit. This laboratory devoted its activities to the study of cancer viruses, mostly the oncogenic retroviruses. Montagnier also studied the biochemical mechanisms which are at the origin of the growth in soft agar of virus transformed cultured cells, and evidenced the multi-step transformation of these cells based on their particular properties of growth in soft gels. In addition, his laboratory was involved in the discovery of interferon messenger RNA, opening the way for the cloning of the interferon genes and also showed the important role of interferon in the expression of retroviruses, including endogenous retroviruses.
In 1983, Montagnier led the team which first isolated the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV1), a new type of retrovirus previously unrecognized in humans and brought the first evidence that this virus was the causative agent of AIDS. In 1985, he also isolated the second AIDS virus, HIV2, from West African patients. Montagnier’s laboratory was also the first to show that a large percentage of white blood cells of HIV infected patients were prone to die by apoptosis, a process of programmed cell death and to attribute its origin to the oxidative stress occurring in the patients, possibly associated with co-infections.
Besides his involvement in the design of new types of HIV vaccines, Montagnier’s current studies are aiming at the diagnosis and treatment of microbial, viral, and epigenetic factors associated with cancers, neurodegenerative and articular diseases, using innovative technologies. A strong advocate of preventive medicine, Montagnier is especially concerned with prolonging the active life of aging people.
Beyond his scientific interest is his deep commitment to helping developing countries acquire knowledge of and access to modern medicine and preventive medicine. As President of the World Foundation for Aids Research and Prevention, Montagnier has co-founded two Centers for the prevention, treatment, research and diagnosis of AIDS patients in the Ivory Coast and Cameroon.
Since 2005, as President-CEO and co-founder of Nanectis Biotechnologies SA, Paris, Montagnier developed a new biophysical technology detecting electromagnetic waves in the plasma of patients suffering from chronic degenerative diseases. These waves are induced in water dilutions by some DNA sequences, presumably originating from pathogenic bacteria and viruses. In the case of HIV infection, Montagnier showed that this technology can detect HIV DNA in patients treated by antiretroviral therapy and having no detectable virus load in the blood. This seminal discovery is opening the way to design new treatments aimed at functionally eradicating HIV infection.
Luc Montagnier has been honored worldwide with many awards, including the Rosen (1971), Gallien (1985), Korber (1986), and Jeantet (1986) Prizes, the Lasker Prize in Medicine (1986), the Gairdner Prize (1987), Sante Prize (1987), Japan Prize (1988), King Faisal Prize (1993), Amsterdam Foundation Prize (1994), Warren Alpert Prize (1998), Prince of Asturias Award (2000), the induction to the National Inventor Hall of Fame (2004). Montagnier is Commandeur de l’Ordre National du Merite (1986) and Grand Officier of the Legion of Honour (2009).
In 2008, Montagnier was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine, for his discovery of HIV, together with Francoise Barre-Sinoussi.
Professor Montagnier is the author or co-author of 350 scientific publications and of more than 750 patents.
Read the autobiography of Luc Montagnier published in 2008 by the Nobel Committee.