This is the first time that a scientist working at a Belgian University receives the Bottazzo award. This important award is given by the Immunology of Diabetes Society (IDS) and the lecture plus award delivery took place at the 21st IDS Congress in Brisbane, Australia, between Monday, April 20 – Thursday, April 24, 2026 (https://www.ids2026.com.au/program/).
The Bottazzo Award was established to honour scientists who have made seminal contributions to the field in the areas of islet autoantibodies, type 1 diabetes (T1D) pathogenesis, and beta cell death. Professor Eizirik received the award for his pioneer work on the molecular pathways leading to autoimmunity in T1D and the dialogue between the immune system and beta cells that trigger and amplify insulitis and beta cell damage.