The UAB to award an honorary doctorate to Marie-Paule Kieny

14/12/2018

On 16 January, microbiologist and activist Marie-Paule Kieny will be awarded an honorary doctorate from the UAB. The ceremony will take place at 12 noon at the conference hall of the Rectorat building and is part of the five exceptional honorary doctorates being awarded this year in commemoration of the UAB's 50th anniversary and which correspond to thematic axes related to knowledge and social commitment. Kieny will be sponsored by Tomás Pumarola, chair professor of microbiology, and the ceremony will be presided by UAB Rector Margarita Arboix. The event will be streamed live by the YouTube.

Marie-Paule Kieny is president of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative and works for the free transfer of patents of her microbiology research, focused on diseases mainly affecting developing nations. She was also Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organisation and achieved the development and concession of licences of new vaccines against pandemic diseases (malaria, zika and ebola). She has published over 350 articles, mainly in the area of infectious diseases, immunology, vaccines, and healthcare systems. Among other distinctions, she has been awarded the titles of Chevalier de l'Ordre du Mérite dfrom the French Ministry for Research and the Chevalier dans l'Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur.

The honorary doctorate awarded to Kieny corresponds with the axis of solidarity. It will be the second doctorate to be awarded this year, after sculptor Jaume Plensa received his doctorate corresponding to the axis of cultural identity. The remaining honorary doctorates will be awarded to lawyer Caddy Adzuba (freedom of expression), journalist Joaquim Maria Puyal (commitment to the Catalan language and society), and physicist Lisa Randall (knowledge).

More information: The Audacity of Knowledge: 50 years UAB