Researchers need more than just funding. They need encouragement, recognition, and the Fondation Ipsen therefore offers a number of prizes. These prizes are international in scope, awarded to scientists* whose work is recognized as a major advance, and are conferred in such a way as to reward and draw attention to both the individual and the subject of the research. Currently, four prizes are awarded each year.

• Neuronal Plasticity Prize
• Neuropsychology – Jean-Louis Signoret Prize 
• Endocrine Regulation Prize 
• Longevity Prize

Neuronal Plasticity Prize It is awarded to researchers in recognition of outstanding contributions in the field of neuronal plasticity: development, synaptogenesis, aging, regeneration, grafts, growth factors, etc. The prize may be shared by several researchers involved in the same research field. Jury: Wolf Singer (Frankfurt, Germany) – President Albert Aguayo (Montréal, Canada) Joël Bockaert (Montpellier, France) Alexis Brice (Paris, France) Stanislas Dehaene (Orsay, France) Stephen Dunnett (Cardiff, UK) Kjell Fuxe (Stockholm, Sweden) Marc Jeannerod (Bron, France) Christine Petit (Paris, France)

Laureates (1990-2009):
1990 Albert Aguayo (Montreal, Canada), Anders Bjorklund (Lund, Sweden) and Fred Gage (la Jolla, USA)
Neuronal grafting.

1991 Ursula Bellugi (La Jolla, USA), Wolf Singer (Frankfurt, Germany) and Torsten Wiesel (New York, USA)
Plasticity in the visual system.

1992 Philippe Ascher (Paris, France), Kjell Fuxe (Stockholm, Sweden) and Terje LØmo (Oslo, Norway)
Interactions at the receptors level.

1993 Per Andersen (Oslo, Norway), Masao Ito (Wako Saitama, Japan) and Constantino Sotelo (Paris, France)
Neuronal plasticity at the synaptic level in the hippocampus and the cerebellum.

1994 Mariano Baarbacid (Princeton, USA), Yves-Alain Barde (Planegg-Martinsried, Germany) and Hans Thoenen (Planegg-Martinsried, Germany)
Neurotrophic factors.

1995 Jacques Melher (Paris, France), Brenda Milner (Montreal, Canada) and Mortimer Mishkin (Bethesda, USA)
Cognitive processes in humans and primates.

1996 Friedrich Bonhoeffer (Tübingen, Germany) Corey Goodman (Berkeley, USA) and Marc Tessier-Lavigne (San Francisco, USA)
Axonal guidance.

1997 Antonio Damasio (Iowa City, USA), Richard Frackowiak (London, UK) and Michael Merzenich (San Francisco, USA)
 Brain maps and their plasticity.

1998 Heinrich Betz (Frankfurt, Germany), Gerald Fischbach (Boston, USA) and Uel McMahan (Stanford, USA)
Formation of synapses at the molecular level.

1999 Masakazu Konishi (Pasadena, USA), Peter Marler (Davis, USA) and Fernando Nottebohm (Millbrook, USA)
Animal models.

2000 Tomas Hökfelt (Stockholm, Sweden), Lars Olson (Stockholm, Sweden) and Lars Terenius (Stockholm, Sweden)
Neuromodulation in neuronal plasticity.

2001 Albert Galaburda (Boston, USA), John Morton (London, UK) and Elizabeth Spelke (Cambridge, USA)
Psychological development in children.

2002 Arturo Alvarez-Buylla (San Francisco, USA), Ronald McKay (Bethesda, USA), and Samuel Weiss (Calgary, Canada)
Stem cells in the central nervous system.

2003 François Clarac (Marseille, France), Sten Grillner (Stockholm, Sweden) and Serge Rossignol (Montreal, Canada)
Motor control.

2004 James Gusella (Boston, USA), Jean-Louis Mandel (Strasbourg, France) and Huda Zoghbi (Houston, USA)
Triplet diseases and neuronal plasticity.

2005 Ann Graybiel (Cambridge, USA), Trevor Robbins (Cambridge, UK) and Wolfram Schultz (Cambridge, UK)
Motivation and associative learning.

2006 Eckart Gundelfinger (Magdeburg, Germany), Mary Kennedy (Pasadena, USA) and Morgan Sheng (Cambridge, USA)
Synapse protein complexes in neuronal plasticity.

2007 Nikos K. Logothetis (Tübingen, Germany), Giacomo Rizzolatti (Parma, Italy) and Keiji Tanaka (Wako, Japan)
Neurophysiology of cognition.

2008 Jean-Pierre Changeux (Paris, France), Peter W. Kalivas (Charleston, USA) and Eric J. Nestler (Dallas, USA)
Molecular targets of drugs abuse.

2009 Alim Louis Benabid (Grenoble, France), Apostolos Georgopoulos (Minneapolis, USA) and Miguel Nicolelis (Durham, USA)
Brain-Machine interaction.

Neuropsychology – Jean-Louis Signoret Prize This prize, dedicated to Pr. Jean-Louis Signoret (1933-1991), neurologist at Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, recognizes the author of a particularly important piece of research in the field  of behavioral neurology published recently. Jury: Albert Galaburda (Boston, USA), President Jocelyne Bachevalier (Atlanta, USA) Laurent Cohen (Paris, France) Branch Coslett (Philadelphia, USA) Richard Frackowiak (Lausanne, Switzerland) Didier Hannequin ( Rouen, France) Kenneth Heilman (Gainesville, USA) Bernard Laurent (Saint-Etienne, France) Kimford Meador (Atlanta, USA) Michel Poncet (Marseille, France) Donald Stuss (Toronto, Canada)

Laureates (1992-2009):

1992 Eric Kandel (Boston, USA)
Memory.

1993 Jacques Paillard (Marseille, France)
Movement.

1994 Rodolfo Llinas (New York, USA)
Consciousness.

1995 Stephen Kosslyn (Cambridge, USA)
Vision and cognition.

1996 Alfonso Caramazza (Cambridge, USA)
Language and the brain.

1997 Jean-Pierre Changeux (Paris, France)
Biology of cognition.

1998 Eduardo Bisiach (Turino, Italy)
Hemineglect.

1999 Joseph LeDoux (New York, USA)
Emotion.

2000 Joaquim Fuster (Los Angeles, USA)
Executive functions.

2001 Stanislas Dehaene (Orsay, France)
Mathematics and the brain.

2002 Deepak Pandya (Boston, USA)
Cognitive neuroanatomy.

2003 Uta Frith (London, UK)
Neurocognitive development.

2004 Antonio and Hanna Damasio (Iowa City, USA)
Social cognition.

2005 Marc Jeannerod (Lyon, France)
Motor control.

2006 Faraneh Vargha-Khadem (London, UK)
Genetics and behavior.

2007 Alvaro Pascual Leone (Boston, USA)
Plasticity and rehabilitation.

2008 Elizabeth Warrington (London, UK)
Semantic knowledge.

2009 Pierre Maquet (Liège, Belgium)
Sleep and cognition

  

Endocrine Regulation Prize This prize is awarded to a researcher or a physician who has carried out work essential to a better understanding of the role of neuroendocrine interactions in regulating the body’s major metabolic functions. It is bestowed for a particularly significant body of work rather than a single discovery. Jury: Iain Robinson (London, UK), President Xavier Bertagna (Paris, France) Michael Conn (Beaverton, Rolf Gaillard (Lausanne, Switzerland) Ezio Ghigo (Turino, Italy) Ilpo Huhtaniehmi (London, UK) Paul Kelly (Paris, France) Steven Lamberts (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) Stafford Lightman (Bristol, UK) Robert Steiner (Seattle, USA) Richard Weiner (San Francisco, USA)

Laureates (2002-2009):

2002 Wylie Vale (La Jolla, USA)
CRF and other hormones from hypothalamus.

2003 Robert Lefkowitz ( Durham, USA)
Proteins receptors and their regulation.

2004 Pierre Chambon (Strasbourg, France)
Nuclear estrogen receptors.

2005 Tomas Hökfelt (Stockholm, Sweden)
Neuropeptides as  major players in neuroendocrinology.

2006 Roger Cone (Portland, USA)
Biology of the melanocortin peptides.

2007 William Crowley (Boston, USA)
Translational approach of GnRH deficiency.

2008 Ronald Evans (La Jolla, USA)
Genetic contribution to endocrinology.

2009 Gilbert Vassart (Bruxelles, Belgium)
Understanding of endocrine diseases.

   

Longevity Prize This prize is awarded to a French or foreign researcher  -biologist, geneticist, gerontologist, psychologist, demographer, statistician, etc.- in recognition of an outstanding contribution  in the field of Longevity. The prize may be shared by several researchers involved in the same research field. Jury: Leonard Poon (Athens, USA), President James Carey (Davis, USA) Eileen Crimmins (Los Angeles, USA) Caleb Finch (Los Angeles, USA) Bernard Forette (Paris, France) Bernard Jeune (Odense, Denmark) George Martin (Seattle, USA) Jean-Pierre Michel (Genève, Switzerland) Jean-Marie Robine (Montpellier, France) Jacques Treton (Paris, France) Bruno Vellas (Toulouse, France)

Laureates (1996-2009):

1996 Caleb E. Finch (Los Angeles, USA)
Biology of aging.

1997 Vaino Kannisto (Lisboa, Portugal)
Demographics and longevity.

1998 Roy L. Walford (Los Angeles, USA)
Caloric restriction and longevity.

1999 John Morley (St Louis, USA)
Successful aging.

2000 Paul & Margret Baltes (Berlin, Germany)
Psycho-sociological factors of successful aging.

2001 Justin Congdon (Aiken, USA)
Processes of delayed aging in the animal world.

2002 George Martin (Seattle, USA)
Biology & genetics of longevity.

2003 James Vaupel (Rostock, Germany)
The future of life expectancy in light of the history of life expectancy.

2004 Linda Partridge (London, UK)
Diet, death and demography in drosophila.

2005 Sir Michael Marmot (London, UK)
Social gradiant effect and longevity.

2006 Cynthia Kenyon (San Francisco, USA)
From worms to mammals - the regulation of aging by insulin/IGF-1 signalling.

2007 David Barker (Southampton, UK)
Early determinants of longevity.

2008 Gerald McLearn (University Park, USA)
Genetic factors involved in cognitive aging.

2009 Jacques Vallin (Paris, France)
Cross-national comparison of longevity through health transition.

* Please note that the international jury in charge of awarding the prize is not expecting any application:  laureates are selected on the basis of either their main achievements throughout their career, or in recognition of a particularly important work. Publications of potential laureates are carefully checked by the jury members before they meet for a final decision.