The Richard Lounsbery Prize 2022, awarded by the French Academy of Sciences and the American National Academy of Sciences (NAS), has been awarded to Claire Wyart (Inserm), head of the “Spinal Sensory Signaling” team at the Pris Brain Institute, for her work on the sensory interface between the nervous system and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which modulates our posture and movements.

Sensory information and movement

The team led by Claire Wyart combines genetic, electrophysiological, behavioral and biophysical approaches to explore neuromodulatory networks originating in the brain or spinal cord and their effects on locomotion and posture. She recently discovered that ciliated neurons in contact with the cerebrospinal fluid detect the curvature of the spine and modulate locomotion and posture. One of the team’s goals is to understand how sensory information is integrated by the spinal cord throughout life, and how it impacts locomotion.

The Richard Lounsbery Award

The Richard Lounsbery Prize is awarded every other year to a French or American researcher. Created in 1979 by Vera Lounsbery in memory of her husband, this prize is supported by the Lounsbery Foundation in Washington. The prize is worth $75,000 and is awarded to a French or American researcher (under 45 years of age) for their achievements in biology and medicine.