- Mrs Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, French Minister of Health, Youth, Sport and the Voluntary Organizations, August 10, 2008, HKU-Pasteur Research Centre Ltd -
Mrs Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, French Minister of Health, Youth, Sport and the Voluntary Organizations visited HKU-PRC on August 9, 2008. Dr Roberto Bruzzone, CEO, and Pr Malik Peiris, Scientific Director, presented our mission, our research and teaching activities and emphasized the role of Hong Kong as an influenza sentinel post. The management of large-scale safety risks such as influenza pandemic within the European Union will be a major theme emphasized during the French presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU Health Ministers meeting, September 8-9, 2008, Angers, 2008). Dr Jean-Michel Garcia gave a short overview of ongoing work aimed at understanding the interaction between avian influenza virus and cellular receptors at the atomic level. During her tour of the laboratories she discussed with staff scientists and students working on viral respiratory infections such as SARS and avian influenza. Madame Bachelot-Narquin praised the achievements of the Centre with the RESPARI program (partially financed by the French Ministry of Health) and reaffirmed the support of her Ministry.
