Stewart Cole facts for kids

Sir Stewart Thomas Cole, born in 1955, is a famous British and French scientist who studies tiny living things called microbes. He was the leader (Director General) of the important Pasteur Institute from 2018 to 2023.

Stewart Cole's Early Life and Learning

Stewart Cole grew up in Wales. He went to Milford Haven Grammar School and then Ardwyn Grammar School. When he was young, he got very sick with a disease called paratyphoid. This made him very interested in bacteria, viruses, and diseases that can spread.

This interest led him to study microbiology at the University of Wales in Cardiff. After that, he did more research for his PhD at the University of Sheffield in England. He also worked as a researcher in Sweden and Germany.

Stewart Cole's Career and Research on Diseases

Stewart Cole has spent many years researching infectious diseases and working to improve health around the world. From 2007 to 2017, he was a professor and led the Global Health Institute at a top Swiss school, the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

Before that, he worked at the Pasteur Institute in Paris for many years (1983–2007). He later returned to lead the institute.

Discoveries in Microbiology

His research in microbiology is very important for global health. Over 40 years, his team studied many things. They looked at how bacteria work and how some viruses, like HIV, cause disease. They also studied how germs become resistant to antibiotics.

Dr. Cole is best known for his amazing work on bacteria called mycobacteria. These bacteria cause serious human diseases like tuberculosis (TB), leprosy, and Buruli ulcer. He helped us understand how these bacteria work and how they cause illness.

Mentoring and Publications

Stewart Cole has guided many students through their master's and PhD degrees. He also trained over 50 other scientists and doctors. Together, they have written more than 400 scientific papers and articles. Many of his former students have become important scientists themselves.

New Medicines and Patents

Dr. Cole has also invented many things that are protected by patents. Some of these inventions were used by companies to create new ways to find and treat diseases. These have directly helped people and saved lives.

He was a scientific leader for projects like "New Medicines For Tuberculosis" (NM4TB) and "More Medicines For Tuberculosis" (MM4TB). These projects helped find new medicines for TB, like BTZ043 and PBTZ169.

In 2014, a non-profit group called iM4TB was created to help develop PBTZ169. This work got support from EPFL and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Both BTZ043 and PBTZ169 have been tested in early human trials.

In 2019, Dr. Cole became a scientific leader for ERA4TB. This group is working on new ways to treat TB. It gets money from the European Commission.

Leading the Pasteur Institute

Stewart Cole became the 16th Director General of the Pasteur Institute on January 2, 2018. He was the first person who was not French to lead the institute in its 130-year history.

He created a plan for the institute from 2019 to 2023. His main goal was to boost basic research and help the institute have a bigger impact on human health. Key areas included new and re-emerging infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and brain diseases.

He made sure the institute continued the four main goals set by its founder, Louis Pasteur. These goals are research, public health, training, and turning discoveries into useful applications for people. He finished his term on December 31, 2023.

In 2024, he joined the Ineos Oxford Institute for AMR Research to work on antibiotic resistance. He also became the President of the Pasteur Foundation - UK. In 2022, he was given a special honor, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG), for his work in science.

Awards and Special Honors

• 2001: Prix Jean-Pierre Lecocq from the French Academy of Sciences
• 2002: Marjory Stephenson Prize from the Society for General Microbiology
• 2002: Became an EMBO member (a group of top European life scientists)
• 2004: Chevalier in the Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur, France (a high French honor)
• 2007: Fellow of the Royal Society, UK (a top science group in the UK)
• 2009: Kochon Prize from the World Health Organization's STOP-TB Partnership
• 2014: Emil von Behring Prize from the University of Marburg
• 2016: Gardner Middlebrook Award
• 2022: Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
• 2023: Honorary Doctor of Medicine, University of Sheffield
• 2024: Officier in the Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur, France