Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, representing His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, yesterday conferred the 2017 Prince Mahidol Award on laureates at the Chakri Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace.
The Prince Mahidol Award 2017 in the field of medicine goes to the Human Genome Project (HGP), a team-oriented research project that lasted from 1990 to 2003 and was designed to read all human DNA.
The Human Genome Project allows a better understanding of cellular and organ functions as well as the mechanisms of disease which can eventually lead to more accurate and more individualised medical treatment.
Receiving the award was Dr Eric D Green, director of the US National Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), who represented hundreds of scientists from six countries who worked on the project.
"The award is meaningful to me and the hundreds of colleagues who participated in the genome project, and even thousands of scientists who do genomics. The field of genomics did not exist until 1987. It's a very young field. And to be honoured in such a young field, it's wonderful," said Dr Green in an interview prior to the award-presentation ceremony.
The Prince Mahidol Award in the field of public health goes to four researchers, namely Prof Porter W Anderson Jr, Dr John B Robbins, Dr Rachel Schneerson and Prof Mathuram Santosham from the United States whose work focused on the mechanisms of disease and vaccine development for Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib).
Hib is a bacteria responsible for severe pneumonia, meningitis and other serious infections, mostly in small children.
The team was recognised for the development of the vaccine which was licensed in 1989. After it was made available worldwide, the incidence of Hib as well as mortality rate among young children dropped significantly.
Now in its 26th year, the Prince Mahidol Award is conferred every year in two areas -- medicine and public health.
The award aims to recognise individuals or institutions that have made exemplary contributions to mankind.
As for the 2017 awards, 45 nominations from 27 countries were submitted to the Prince Mahidol Award committee.
Laureates were announced by representatives from the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation last November at Siriraj Hospital.
In its 26 years of history, four Thais have been selected as Prince Mahidol Award laureates.
They are Dr Prasong Tuchinda and Dr Suchitra Nimmannitya, who developed effective treatments for dengue fever and won the award in 1996, and Dr Wiwat Rojanapithayakorn and Mechai Viravaidya, who shared the award in the field of public health in 2009 for their commitment to HIV/Aids prevention.
A dinner presided over by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was held after the ceremony.
The dinner, which was held in honour of the 2017 Prince Mahidol laureates, took place at the Boromarajasathitmaholarn Hall inside the Grand Palace.
