Prix Danièle Hermann 2014 : an emotional ceremony

It’s under a radiant sun and in the presence of numerous personalities from the scientific world that took place the delivery of Danièle Hermann price.

Fondation Recherche Cardio Vasculaire
Maître Michèle Cahen, Madame Yamina Benguigui, Professeur Jean-Noël Trochu et le Chancelier Gabriel de Broglie

This year’s particularly moving ceremony recognized the research work carried out by Professeur Jean-Noël Trochu from the Institut du Thorax et du Système Nerveux at the CHU de Nantes (the Thorax and Nervous System Institute at Nantes University Hospital) on end-stage heart failure and the artificial heart. Tribute was also paid to the unstinting work in combating cardiovascular illness, especially in women, performed by Danièle Hermann, who died in Autumn 2014 as a result of heart failure. The ceremony was an opportunity for guests including Madame Yamina Benguigui, who is especially involved in the sphere of women’s cardiac health, to pay homage to this incredible campaigner, who in spite of her illness, never gave up and did her utmost to promote research in the cardiovascular field.

The commitment of a woman who was ‘all heart’ in every sense of the word was recognized in glowing tributes delivered by Gabriel de Broglie, Chancellor of the Institut de France, Professeur Jean-François Bach, Permanent Secretary of the French Academy of Science and the winner of this year’s award, Professeur Jean-Noël Trochu, who, together with his team, are devising practical solutions to the suffering of patients affected by heart failure. This patient-focused approach is very much what Danièle Hermann would have wanted, given that she saw pain relief as being an extremely important part of patient care, especially as she had personal experience of such suffering. A message of hope was also voiced by Maître Michèle Cahen, who has just been elected Vice-President of the Fondation Recherche Cardio-Vasculaire (the Foundation for Cardiovascular Research). During the awarding of this year’s prize of 30,000 euros, she reminded the audience, quoting French writer Georges Sand, that although it may be the spirit that searches, it’s the heart that finds.

This deeply moving ceremony only served to confirm that the Prix Danièle Hermann continues to be a top award which gives researchers the resources they need to succeed.