Franck Molina, a native of Matelles, research director at the CNRS and researcher in synthetic biology, received the Legion of Honor on Monday February 14 from the hands of Frédérique Vidal, Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. While traveling to the Fabre museum in Montpellier, the Minister presented the insignia of Chevalier to the researcher, in the presence of local and regional personalities.
A rewarding scientific career
This distinction rewards several elements of Franck Molina’s career at the CNRS, in particular interdisciplinary work in the fields of life simulation (CNRS bronze medal in 2004), in synthetic biology (CNRS Innovation medal in 2020 , and Scientist of the Year in 2020 in Singapore), then his role in the CARE Committee (Committee for Analysis and Research Expertise) which advised the government during the health crisis. It is also Franck Molina’s laboratory which urgently designed the world’s first rapid and connected saliva test for Covid-19 screening, in June 2020. “This test has been used in more than 20 countries around the world, even if it was reimbursed late in France”, points out Franck Molina.
He confides that “other innovations are to come in the areas of diabetes prevention, simplified pesticide detection, or the monitoring of psychiatric illnesses”. Furthermore, Frédérique Vidal began the day with the presentation of two innovative research projects from Montpellier, (read Free lunch of February 15): one in the field of innovative therapies (CI LOA), the other in that of future tests intended for amateur or professional athletes, conducted by the Sys2Diag laboratory of the CNRS of Franck Molina. These tests in preparation which combine video and saliva tests will make it possible to detect concussions in real time during sports matches such as rugby, football, handball, or even judo.
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