Professor Shahida Hasnain of Pakistan and Samir Saha of Bangladesh named as laureates of 2017 Carlos J Finlay UNESCO Prize for Microbiology.

They will receive the prize on 6 November in a 39th session of the General Conference of UNESCO, that will to gather 195 Member State of organization between 30 October and 14 November, revealed in a UNESCO statement.

Samir Saha head of the Microbiology Department, Dhaka Shishu Hospital for children in Bangladesh and executive director of The Child Health Research Foundation at Bangladesh Institute of Child Health.

“As a leading researcher in pediatrics, Samir Saha played significant role in introducing vaccines against two bacteria causing meningitis, that had improved the health of children in Bangladesh. He has also led research into the resistance to treatment of some pneumococcal diseases”, read statement.

Shahida Hasnain, founder and chairperson of Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at University of Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan, winner of many distinctions for her work.

“Professor Hasnain contributed to advances in research in environmental, agricultural and medical microbiology. She has researched on heavy metal detoxification mechanisms, salt stress tolerance mechanisms, and bacterial morphogenesis,” the statement added.

The Carlos J Finlay UNESCO Prize rewards an individual, or of an institution, non-governmental organization, or other entity, by research and development, has made an excellent contribution to the field of microbiology and its applications.

The prize has an award of $10,000, divided between the two laureates.

Prize rewards scientists whose research has made an excellent contribution to microbiology and its applications. Created in 1977 by UNESCO at the initiative of the Government of Cuba.