The Maurice Hilleman award honors the memory of Maurice Hilleman, PhD, one of the most effective vaccinologists in history. Dr. Maurice Hilleman led Merck MSD’s Department of Virus and Cell Biology from 1956 to 1984. Of the fourteen vaccines routinely recommended in current vaccine schedules, he developed eight, including measles, mumps, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, chickenpox, meningitis, pneumonia and Haemophilus influenzae bacteria.
The Maurice Hilleman Award is given to a scientist in recognition of his or her outstanding contributions to the development and/or implementation of HPV vaccines.
The recipient of the 2025 Hilleman award is Dr Eduardo Franco, a Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Departments of Oncology and Epidemiology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. On October 26, 2025 during the Closing Ceremony of the 37th Annual Conference of the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS 2025), Dr Franco gave an inspiring 20-minute presentation which was the keynote lecture for the conference’s closing. His talk, attended by 274 delegates, was entitled “Copernicus, Galileo, and HPV Vaccination”.
Dr Eduardo Franco giving the keynote lecture at the Closing Ceremony of IPVS 2025 – October 26, 2025
Previous recipients of this prestigious award are Lutz Gissmann, Laura Koutsky, Silvia Franceschi, Xavier Bosch, Margaret Stanley and Dr Reinhard Kirnbauer.
