Montagnier

Luc Montagnier (1932–2022) was a French virologist best known for co-discovering the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and for receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008 for this discovery.

Born August 18, 1932, in Châlons-sur-Marne, France, Montagnier studied medicine at the University of Paris and began his career at the Pasteur Institute, where he led research into retroviruses.

In 1983, Montagnier and his collaborators isolated HIV from a patient with AIDS, providing evidence that the virus was the cause of the disease and helping to establish HIV as the etiologic agent of AIDS.

For this work, he and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008.

In later years, Montagnier remained active in virology, but some of his public statements drew controversy. He discussed and debated various theories about the origins of HIV/AIDS and, more recently, about the nature of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, which were criticized by the broader scientific community.

Montagnier died on February 8, 2022, in Paris, France, at the age of 89.