Institutions Pasteur Institute Institution Pasteur Institute Alma mater University of Liege | Role Politician Name Lise Thiry Main interests Virology | |
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Born 5 February 1921 (age 103)
Liege ( 1921-02-05 ) | ||
Lise Thiry (born 1921) is a Belgian scientist and politician. She has been voted one of the top 100 Belgians on a television show on the Belgian French-speaking public channel RTBF.
Life
Thiry was born in 1921 on 5 February in Liege. Her father was Marcel Thiry who was a leading French poet. She was one of three female students, in 1940, who studied medicine at the University of Liege. She graduated in 1946 and went on to research at the Pasteur Institute in Brussels. In 1951 she created a virology department. She developed a method of screening the AIDS virus.
In 1990, she became a senator and was voted "Woman of the Year". In 2002, whilst championing the rights of asylum seekers she wrote Conversations with the Clandestine Ones.
In 2007, a 70 cent stamp featuring Thiry and the AIDS virus was created. In 2001, she was given the Walloon Merit at the rank of Commander.