Abdou FATAWOU from the CPC’s virology laboratory is the winner of this scholarship, which promotes access to training at the Institut Pasteur for scientists from low-income countries.

When the decisive moment comes to press the submit icon, Abdou Fatawou takes a last look at the dossier he is about to submit to the jury. Especially as other young PhD graduates from the 30 Pasteur Network member institutes (outside mainland France) are also potential candidates. Little did the young virologist know that a few months later he would receive the email notifying him that he was one of the two winners of the Calmette and Yersin 2024 grant.

Abdou FATAWOU speaks passionately about his work: ‘It concerns an original aspect of the natural history of enteroviruses’ he introduces. The young researcher explains that they aim to obtain new data on the diversity of enteroviruses circulating in non-human primates (NHPs) in Central Africa, and to identify the mechanisms by which these viruses adapt to a particular host.

To achieve this, the young researcher plans to use innovative technological approaches (new-generation sequencing/metagenomic analysis and proteomic analysis).

For the virologist, this subject is particularly important, as some enteroviruses circulating in humans today are probably derived from viruses circulating in non-human primates in sub-Saharan Africa. The study also aims to detect the potential spread of viruses in the environment by HNPs infected via the faecal route, and to identify the pathogens present in faeces (sediment that remains at the bottom of a cloudy liquid after it has been left to stand) that are potentially harmful to non-human primates and transmitted to them by humans or other animals.

As part of this fellowship, Dr Abdou FATAWOU MODIYINJI will receive training in bioinformatics analysis of high-throughput sequencing data and proteomic analysis during a two-year scientific stay at the Institut Pasteur in Paris.

To consult his work: : https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Modiyinji-Abdou-Fatawo