The Ireland Fund of France in conjunction with French pharmaceutical group L’ Institut Servier and RCSI has today announced the call for nominations for the Dr Jacques Servier Scholarship Prize 2010 of €10,000.

The awardee will have a track record of collaboration with French researchers, have the potential to use the Dr Jacques Servier Scholar Prize to further Ireland-France Biomedical research collaboration and an international reputation in an area of research relevant to The Servier Foundation, e.g. cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine disorders in particular diabetes, neurodegeneration and molecular medicine.

Named after Dr Jacques Servier, the founding President of the Servier Research Group, this scholarship aims to promote and encourage scientific exchange between the medical community, health care industry, universities and research organisations particularly in the field of therapeutic research. It also represents another initiative in furtherance of the Ireland Fund of France’s mission to enhance Franco-Irish relations.

L’Institut Servier
L’Institut Servier perpetuates the values of the Servier Research Group. These values, defined by its founder Dr Jacques Servier, are expressed in the ever-constant desire to promote research and medical knowledge in order to contribute to medical progress and therefore improve patient wellbeing.

As a means to this end, L’Institut Servier engages and promotes scientific exchange between the medical community, the health care industry, universities and research organizations. The vocation of L’Institut Servier does not involve the promotion of Servier products, including those in research or development phases.

Ireland Fund of France
Founded in Paris in 1990, and presided ever since by Pierre Joannon, a well-known hibernophile who was awarded Irish citizenship by the State a few years ago, the Ireland Fund of France is the French branch of the Ireland Funds which are now the largest worldwide network of people of Irish ancestry and friends of Ireland.  Together, the eleven Ireland Funds have raised over $160 million for worthy causes in Ireland. Along with its contribution to peace, culture, charity and education, the Ireland Fund of France aims to achieve closer ties between our two countries in every possible field.  As far as its educational mission is concerned, the Ireland Fund of France has set up several scholarship programmes much appreciated by the academic community, the last of which is the Dr Jacques Servier scholarship.