Born April 24, 1925 in Paris (17th arrondissement), French nationality. Married, three children. Died February 18, 2022.
Education and professional career
- 1942-1944: Toulouse Faculty of Science
- 1944-1945: Paris Faculty of Science
- 1945-1946: Research intern at CNRS
- 1953-1955: Rockefeller Fellow: Bacteriology Laboratory (University of Illinois) and Rockefeller Institute
- 1957-1962: Senior researcher at CNRS
- 1962-1968: Director of Research, CNRS
- 1968-1972: Professor, Paris Faculty of Science (Chair of Molecular Biology)
- 1972-1995: Professor at the Institut Pasteur, Head of the Biochemistry Department
- 1973-1996: Professor at the Collège de France, Chair of Cellular Biochemistry
- 1976-1981: Director General, Institut Pasteur
- 1982: Honorary Director, Institut Pasteur
Positions and responsibilities in advisory bodies for teaching and research
- 1969: President of the Biochemistry EBU, Université Paris-VII
- 1971: Chairman of the CNRS Cell Biology Commission
- 1972: Member of the Scientific Council of the European Molecular Biology Organization (ENMO)
- 1976: Member of the CNRS Board of Directors
- 1991: Permanent Secretary of the French Academy of Sciences
Learned societies and academies
- Member of the American Academy of Arts and Science
- Member of the American Society of Biological Chemists
- Member of the Paris Academy of Sciences
- Associate member of the Academy of Athens
- Associate member of the Royal Academy of Belgium
- Member of the Indian National Science Academy
- Foreign Corresponding Member of the Venezuelan Academy of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences
Awards and honours
- 1964: Gold Medal of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
- 1967: Knight of the National Order of Merit
- 1968: Fondation Lacassagne Prize
- 1969: Charles Léopold Mayer Prize from the French Academy of Sciences
- 1976: Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
- 1978: Officer of the National Order of Merit
- 1985: Officer of the Legion of Honor
- 1989: Commandeur de l'ordre national du Mérite
- 1991: Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur
- 1998: Commander of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)
- 1999: Jawahalral NEHRU Medal (awarded by the Indian National Science Academy)