The Alain Provost Award is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alain Provost, a great French veterinarian who made considerable progress in the diagnosis and development of vaccines against several viral tropical diseases, mainly in Africa. Dr. Provost was born in 1930 at Ezy-sur-Eure, a small village in Normandy, France, where he was deputy-mayor for many years. He graduated from the National Veterinary School of Maisons Alfort, near Paris, receiving a prize for his thesis. He then graduated from the Pasteur Institute in 1955 with a degree in mycology, microbiology and immunology. In 1961-62, he was a scientific advisor of Charles Mérieux who created the famous Mérieux Institute. He immediately went to Chad, to the Farcha Research Laboratory, to work on virology and specifically on Rinderpest, for IEMVT. From 1962 to 69 he was the head of Virology unit in Farcha and developed the “Bisec” vaccine against both Rinderpest and CBPP which was largely used in Africa. In 1969 he became Director of this laboratory and Regional director of IEMVT for Central Africa, until 1976. From 1977 to 1988 he was General Director of IEMVT and largely responsible for the internationalization of the Institute, its development outside Africa and the important evolution toward molecular biology. He retired in 1988 but remained very active in many international organizations. He published over 250 scientific papers and was a member or a correspondent of many scientific societies: French Veterinary Academy, Overseas Scientific Academy. Dr Provost served on the editorial board of several journals including Veterinary Microbiology, Tropical Animal Health and Production, OIE Review, EMVT Review. He was named “Extraordinary Professor” of the University of Pretoria. The list of medals he received is too extensive to be included but one in particular is “Chevalier de la Confrèrie du Taste-Fromage”, probably linked with his origin from Normandy, and the second one the Theiler Memorial Trust Award from South Africa. His scientific influence, his devotion to tropical veterinary medicine together with his deeply human character are an example for many people. This eminent scientist fought several years against a cancer until he left us just before Christmas 2002.

To honor his memory, the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) established the “Alain Provost Award” to encourage and support one student from a developing country to attend the STVM Biennial Conference. It is presented to the winner of a competition for best abstract of a completed research project along with support materials. The winner will present a paper based on the submitted abstract at the conference. The competition is open to veterinary and graduate students interested in tropical veterinary medicine, originating from a "developing country" as defined by FAO and/or UNDP classification.

The Award provides:
*Round Trip Air Tickets to the Conference
*Registration Fees
*Housing and Some Meals during Conference

(All Arrangements made by or previously approved by CIRAD)

Please Note: The award covers the basic costs associated with attending the meeting. The student applicant agrees to assume responsibility for any additional expenses incurred.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND GUIDELINES

The applicant must submit the following material for evaluation:

1. Research Summary - The student will prepare a summary of not more than 3 typed pages describing a research or clinical medicine project performed by the applicant. The project should be in the area of tropical veterinary medicine or have direct relevance or application to it. The summary should contain a Title with all authors and institutions listed, Type of research (Masters or PhD etc.), an Introduction (history/motivation), Materials and Methods, Results or Final Disposition and a Discussion/Interpretation of these results. The project or research must be completed by the time of application and submission must be approved by all authors. The summary should convey sufficient information for the review committee to fully evaluate the project.

2. Abstract - A 300 word abstract based on the research summary will be prepared for inclusion in the conference program. The abstract should contain Title, authors, institution and concise description of the research.

3. Letters of Recommendation - The student should submit 2 letters of recommendation from faculty or professional members of the institution(s) which supported the research or clinical project. Verification of student status should be included in the recommendation.

4. Application Essay - The applicant should submit an essay of no more than 1 page indicating the students interest in tropical veterinary medicine, prior experiences and career goals.

5. Biographical Sketch - A vitae should be submitted with the educational background of the applicant including academic awards, presentations or publications.

Application materials will be evaluated by a committee appointed by the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD). Evaluation will be based on scientific merit, recommendations and student essay. The winner will be expected to prepare a 15 minute oral presentation of the project for the Biennial Conference.

Deadline for Receipt of Material is March 1, 2007

Send Application Materials To:

Dr. Jean-Charles Maillard
CIRAD-Emvt c/o NIAH
Thuy Phuong – Tu Liem
Hanoi
Vietnam

For additional information regarding this award contact:
Dr. Jean-Charles Maillard
94-4-757-2177 (fax)
maillard@ftp.vn

Other Award Winners

Winners of 2004 Career Development Award:

Stephanie Desmarais, North Carolina State University, College of Vet. Med.
Project: Training program on foodborne pathogens in swine in Debrezeit, Ethiopia

Heather Moore, University of California, Davis, School of Vet. Med.
Project: Vesicular stomatitis: ecological characteristics associated with cattle outbreaks in Costa Rica.

For a list of previous award winner visit our History Web page