Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, as the Representative of His Majesty the King, will preside over the Prince Mahidol Award 2019 at the Chakri Throne Hall on 30 January 2020, at 17.30 hours. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will also preside over the dinner given in honour of the laureates at the Boromrajasathitmaholarn Hall at 19.30 hours.

This year, there are a total of 66 nominations from 35 countries. The Scientific Advisory Committee carefully screened all candidates and subsequently submitted a short list of the candidates to the Board of Trustees. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the meeting of the Board of Trustees on 1 November 2019, during which the final decision on the Prince Mahidol Award 2019 was made.

This year, the Prince Mahidol Award in the field of Medicine is awarded to Professor Dr. Ralf F.W. Bartenschlager from the Federal Republic of Germany.

Professor Dr. Ralf F.W. Bartenschlager’s prominent work on the life cycle of hepatitis C virus (HCV) provided basis for the development of effective, safe, and specific antivirals, called the DAA (Direct Acting Antiviral), with a 95% success rate and minimal side effects, leading to the discovery of a cure for hepatitis C, and consequently saved millions of lives worldwide.

The Prince Mahidol Award in the field of Public Health is awarded to Professor David Mabey from the United Kingdom.

Professor Mabey has studied trachoma, the most common eye infection leading to blindness worldwide, for more than 30 years. Trachoma is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis which is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of about 1.9 million people globally every year. Infection spreads through personal contact and by flies that have been in contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person, particularly in developing countries with inadequate hygiene, crowded households, and inadequate access to water and sanitation. The continuous and relentless efforts of Professor David Mabey to control and eliminate trachoma blindness has improved the livelihood of millions of people throughout the world.

The Prince Mahidol Award Foundation under the Royal Patronage was established in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla, on 1 January 1992. The Foundation is under the Royal Patronage, with Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn as President. The Foundation annually confers two Prince Mahidol

Awards upon individual(s) or institution(s), which have demonstrated outstanding and exemplary contributions to the advancement of the world’s medical and public health services. Each Award consists of a medal, a certificate, and a prize to the sum of US $100,000. 

The general public can watch the live television broadcast on MCOT HD, NBT, NBT World, TNN16 and on Radio Thailand’s stations nationwide which will broadcast in both Thai and English starting from 17.10 hours. In addition, the ceremony will be broadcast live on the official website www.princemahidolaward.org