Jean-Claude Chermann is a French

virologist Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, thei ...

who managed the research team which, by 1983, under the administrative supervision of

Luc Montagnier Luc Montagnier (; , ; 18 August 1932 – 8 February 2022) was a French virologist and joint recipient, with and , of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). He worked as a res ...

, had discovered the virus associated with AIDS. Whereas second author of this initial publication and obviously involved as team manager in this discovery, he had been omitted from the Nobel Prize attributed to its colleagues. In 2008, as chairman of the support committee for the attribution of the

Nobel Prize in medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according ...

to Jean-Claude Chermann,

Bernard Le Grelle Bernard le Grelle (born July 7, 1948) is a Belgian investigative journalist, political adviser, author, former United Nations expert and public affairs executive. He is known for his long-term investigation into the 1963 John F. Kennedy assassin ...

, a political consultant, campaigned for the official recognition of this oversight with the Nobel committee by bringing together more than 700 doctors, professors and scientists (including professor Robert Gallo). The virus was named lymphadenopathy-associated virus, or LAV. A year later, a team led by

Robert Gallo Robert Charles Gallo (; born March 23, 1937) is an American biomedical researcher. He is best known for his role in establishing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the infectious agent responsible for acquired immune deficiency syndrome ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

confirmed the discovery of the virus, but renamed it human T-lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III).

References

Living people 1939 births HIV/AIDS researchers French virologists {{France-scientist-stub