This is an exciting moment for us to announce the winners of the 2020 Sanofi-Cell Research Outstanding Review Article Award: Dr Eran Elinav,1 for his review paper entitled “Interaction between microbiota and immunity in health and disease”; and the Sanofi-Cell Research Outstanding Research Article Award: Drs Lu Lu, Shibo Jiang, Yun Zhu,2 for their research paper entitled “Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 (previously 2019-nCoV) infection by a highly potent pan-coronavirus fusion inhibitor targeting its spike protein that harbors a high capacity to mediate membrane fusion”; Drs Hongkui Deng and Tuoping Luo,3 for their research paper entitled “Elimination of senescent cells by β-galactosidase-targeted prodrug attenuates inflammation and restores physical function in aged mice”. The award consists of a prize of ¥25,000 for the Outstanding Review Article Award and ¥40,000 for the Outstanding Research Article Award sponsored by Sanofi.

Let us take a brief look at these three excellent works. In the award-winning review article from Dr Elinav and colleagues,1 published in the June 2020 issue, the authors systematically discussed host immune-microbiome interactions and their potential effects on human health and disease risk, providing a comprehensive picture of the microtiota-immunity realm. In the first award-winning research article, published in the April 2020 issue, Drs Lu Lu, Shibo Jiang, Yun Zhu and colleagues,2 reported a pan-coronavirus fusion inhibitor that showed potent inhibition of infection of several human coronaviruses, and exhibited both prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy in mouse model. This is a timely finding on the potential treatments against SARS-CoV-2 infection in the very early phase of COVID-19 outbreak. In the second award-winning research article, published in the July 2020 issue, Drs Deng, Luo and colleagues3 designed and developed a novel compound based on the increased activity of lysosomal β-galactosidase, which could eliminate mouse and human senescent cells, and restore physical function in aged mice. Clearing senescent cells is a promising approach to treat age-related diseases and improve physical function. This work opens a new avenue for treating aging-associated diseases.

Please join us to congratulate Dr Elinav, Drs Deng and Luo, Drs Lu, Jiang and Zhu on their winning of the 2020 Sanofi-Cell Research Outstanding Paper Award.