Tribute to Gérard Orth
GÉRARD ORTH
1936-2023
1936-2023
| Gérard Orth, a visionary Gérard Orth, professor at the Institut Pasteur, director of research at the CNRS, and member of the French Academy of Sciences, has died at the age of 87. Gérard Orth was born on February 7 1936, in Paris. A former student of the National Veterinary School of Alfort, he holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the Faculty of Medicine of Paris. Recruited by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in 1962, he worked at the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA, Jouy-en-Josas). Then he joined Professor Paoletti's team at the Gustave-Roussy Institute in Villejuif in 1975. He joined the Institut Pasteur in 1980, where he directed the Papillomavirus Unit until his retirement in 2003. He had a brilliant career at both the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS. Gérard Orth is internationally known for his work on human papillomaviruses (HPV). He was the first to link, in patients with verruciform epidermodysplasia (Lutz-Lewandowsky syndrome), between an increased multiplication of the HPV-5 papillomavirus in their keratinocytes and the development of budding warts. These are characteristic of this genetic skin condition that leads to a high risk of skin cancer. Verruciform epidermodysplasia (VE) has since been considered a model of viral oncogenesis. Gérard Orth and his team succeed in identifying (firstly) the EVER1 and EVER2 genes, responsible for the increased susceptibility of EV patients, (secondly) the viral proteins E5 and E8 as oncoproteins, and (thirdly) deciphering the role of EVER proteins in zinc homeostasis and the immune deficiency that prevents VE patients from eradicating the papillomavirus. Gérard Orth is the author of more than 200 scientific publications in specialized journals. His work on human papillomaviruses and their involvement in cancer has made it possible to advance cervical cancer screening and prevention. In recognition of the excellence of his work, Gérard Orth received several distinctions, among which I would mention only the CNRS silver medal, the Robert Koch Prize, the Henry and Mary Jane Mitjavile Prize of the National Academy of Medicine, and the ARC-Léopold Griffuel Foundation Prize. Gérard Orth was a member of the Academy of Sciences, the Veterinary Academy of France, and the Academia Europaea. He was named Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1996 and elevated to the rank of Officer of the National Order of Merit in 2012. We, his former friends, recognized him as an erudite and humorous researcher with a considerable capacity for work and great uprightness. He was a loyal and sensitive friend. Download pdf Written by Dr. Christine Bergeron MD, PhD President, Laboratoire Cerba, Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, France |
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