Established in 2017, the IPVS Founders Travel Award is a meritorious award for early career researchers who are members of IPVS and have submitted an abstract to present at the next IPVS Conference. The awardees received among the highest review scores for their abstract and will receive travel support to be able to present their research work at the conference.
Sadly, our community has lost multiple talented scientists in 2023 and 2024. The IPVS Founders Travel Awards 2025 will be given in memoriam of Lynette Denny and Gérard Orth.
Lynette Ann Denny (January 30, 1958– June 9, 2024) was a luminary in the field of gynaecologic oncology and a tireless champion for women’s health. Through her unwavering dedication, pioneering research, and compassionate care, Professor Denny made a lasting impact on the global medical community. Her distinguished career was defined by groundbreaking contributions to cervical cancer prevention and treatment, especially in low-resource settings.
Her work, spanning more than 25 years, produced critical evidence that underpinned pioneering approaches and profoundly influenced global practices and understanding of cervical cancer screening.
From 2013 to 2022, Professor Denny led the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Cape Town. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the nation, she was honored with The Order of the Baobab by the President of South Africa in November 2021. In 2022, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the South African Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Gérard Orth (February 7, 1936 – September 4, 2023) began his academic journey in veterinary medicine and went on to lead the Papillomavirus Unit at the Pasteur Institute from 1980 to 2000. His research made significant contributions to the field of papillomavirus biology and oncology.
He conducted pioneering studies on the Shope Papillomavirus, which causes cancerous lesions in cottontail rabbits, demonstrating that the viral genome is present within these tumor lesions. His groundbreaking work showed that vaccination against Shope Papillomavirus in rabbits could prevent tumor formation—a discovery that contributed to the conceptual foundation of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination.
In collaboration with Professor Stefania Jablonska, a dermatologist from Warsaw, he investigated the rare genetic skin disorder Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis (EV)—an autosomal recessive condition linked to a high risk of developing in situ carcinoma. Together, they identified EV-specific HPV types as well as two human genes that are mutated in affected families, advancing the understanding of genetic susceptibility to HPV-associated disease.
Gérard Orth was also one of the key organizers of the 20th International Papillomavirus Conference (IPVC) held in 2002.
