On December 17, 2024, French time, at the annual award ceremony of the French National Academy of Medicine (ANM), Professor Weili Zhao form Shanghai Ruijin Hospital and Professor Anne Janin from Paris Diderot University jointly received the "Charpak-Dubousset Prize." The prize was personally presented by Christian Boitard, the Secretary-General of the Académie Nationale de Médecine, and Jacques Belghiti, the Deputy Secretary-General of the same institution, in recognition of their significant contributions to the field of lymphoma.

Professor Weili Zhao currently serves as the Deputy Director of Ruijin Hospital affiliated to School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Director of Shanghai Institute of Hematology, and the Director of Shanghai Key Clinical Medical Center. She is dedicated to the clinical diagnosis, treatment, and translational research of lymphocytic malignancies. Her related achievements have earned her one Innovation Team Award of the National Award for Progress in Science and Technology and one Second Prize of the National Award for Scientific and Technological Progress as the first contributor, as well as six first-prize awards at provincial and ministerial levels. She has obtained 16 national invention patents and presided over multiple key research and development programs of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, major projects of the National High-Tech Research and Development Program (863 Program), and key projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Professor Zhao has received numerous honors, including “National Advanced Worker in the Health System,” “National March 8th Red Flag Handmaiden,” the China Young Female Scientist Award, the Young Leader Award from the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), the Tan Jiazhen Life Science Award, the Wu Jieping Medical Innovation Award, and the title of “Shanghai Scientific and Technological Elite.”

In the mid-to-late 1980s, the Shanghai Institute of Hematology established a collaboration with the Institute of Hematology at Hôpital Saint-Louis affiliated with Paris Diderot University. Academicians Zhu Chen and Saijuan Chen studied in France successively and conducted clinical and basic research on leukemia treatment. With the joint efforts of scientists from both countries and the approval of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the “Sino-French Life Sciences and Genomics Research Center” was established at Ruijin Hospital in 2002. This center united top research institutions such as the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Human Genome Research Institute (South China), the French National Academy of Sciences, the French National Academy of Medicine, and the French National Sequencing Center. It has received consistent support from both the Chinese and French governments over the years and has achieved fruitful results.

Professor Weili Zhao and Professor Anne Janin have established close collaboration in the field of lymphoma. The research projects they jointly applied for have received support from national research programs such as the Sino-French Advanced Research Program and the Key International Cooperation Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Through in-depth research on the molecular mechanisms of lymphoma, they successfully established a molecular classification system, providing more precise treatment options for patients. Leading her team in inheriting and innovating, her series of work has not only improved the treatment response rate and survival rate of lymphoma patients but also provided new ideas and methods for individualized treatment of lymphoma.

The Charpak-Dubousset Prize, awarded by the French National Academy of Medicine, recognizes scientists who have made outstanding contributions in the field of medicine. Candidates from around the world undergo rigorous review by the Council and Selection Committee of the French National Academy of Medicine. This prize embodies the spirit of cooperation among scholars worldwide in scientific research and technological innovation, as well as their shared commitment to promoting human health and well-being.