The prestigious 2007 Balzan Prize was recently awarded to Bruce Beutler, M.D., chair of the genetics department at The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N. Torrey Pines Road.
“The award came as a complete surprise,” Beutler said. “As I read a list of past laureates, I was elated and felt deeply honored, as one would expect, and I was also glad for my friend Jules Hoffman with whom I share the award.”
The International Balzan Prize Foundation of Italy and Switzerland announced that Beutler and Hoffman would share the prize of $827,000 for their work in discovering the genetic mechanisms responsible for innate immunity.
“Scripps provides me with the greatest freedom to do research that I have ever known, and there are essentially no institutional demands placed on me, which is the ideal situation for a scientist,” Beutler said. “It also provides a superb intellectual environment and sits in a beautiful, uplifting location.”
For more information, see www.scripps.edu.