The French researcher Bruno Lemaitre is known for the discoveries he has made regarding the fruit flyan insect that has been studied in the laboratory for most of its career.
In fact, It was he who discovered how genes called toll-like receptors play a crucial role in your immune system..
Broadly speaking, Lemaitre He realized that, by removing them, the latter was no longer able to identify an infection.
That was quickly positioned as an important discovery in the community scientificto the point that the discovery was selected as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2011.
However, Lemaitre is not listed as one of the main authors, despite the work he did.
In fact, He accuses that it was the boss he had at the time who took the credit and that he has not received all the recognition he deserves.
Currently, the scientist is dedicated to studying narcissistic personalities and even published a book on this topictitled An Essay on Narcissism and Science (2016).
In Spanish, translates as “An essay on science and narcissism”.
And although he assures that today he is at peace with what happened, He recently told his story and shared his critical vision of the world of scientific research. on the podcast Outlook by BBC Sounds.
Lemaitre said that since he arrived in Paris to develop professionally, he discovered that the environment in universities had “a large number of administrative layers”.
“I discovered that Professors do not necessarily choose the best students or they often had their wives hired in the laboratory.. Many cases of favoritism,” she stated.
In this sense, he added in the aforementioned program: “Maybe I was very sensitive to that, but I quickly felt that academic research was not the simple pursuit of knowledge or try to do the best.”
Over time, was able to join a team of specialists studying the fruit fly and got a doctorate.
Nevertheless, He later entered a laboratory directed by Professor Jules Hoffman.
According to Lemaitre, “He was investigating the immune system of flies, but without looking at the genetic component”.
“Genetics was my area of knowledge and I knew that genetics had been very powerful in understanding other issues. So I fell in love, I said to myself ‘here you can discover somethingyou can find a place to exist.’”
Of course, he emphasized that “We must understand that science always has a collective aspect”.
“You will never be the first person to work on something, and there will always be individuals who influence you. But There is always room for someone who can compile information in a new way. For me, it was understanding how fruit flies responded to infections using genetics,” he explained.
Thus, he continued with his scientific work until finally found the discovery.
And although he specified that toll receptors had been previously discovered in Tübingen (Germany) and that “the molecular characterization was done by an important woman in the field called Catherine Anderson,” he and his team showed “its role in the immune response”.
Enthusiastic, He reported what they found to Jules Hoffman, who was in charge of writing the investigation.
According to what he said in the podcast, “At first, I wrote the results with the help of my colleague, but then my boss, who wrote better, played a more important role”.
“I appreciated that when one has problems with writing, someone can inject some style into the discoverythat is important,” Lemaitre added.
The work was finally published in the academic journal Cell and aroused the attention of the scientific community.
But more than a decade later, When Lemaitre had already left Hoffman’s laboratory to found his own, it was announced that the latter had won the Nobel Prize..
The situation disconcerted him, since He wasn’t even listed as one of the main authors.
“You have to understand that these awards have a political facet. By giving a Nobel to a work on the fruit fly, They were validating the work in the field I worked in, so I was relieved when I heard about the award (…) but at the same time I was frustratedinjured”.
This was because “I felt like I had contributed more” than Hoffman.
“He had helped make it visible and had contributed with his knowledge to the development of the laboratory,” said Lemaitre, but He assures that ultimately it was he who made the discovery.
For its part, Hoffman denied that the aforementioned program had appropriated his work, although he did acknowledge that the discovery was made directly by Lemaitre..
In addition, He remembered that he mentioned it when he went to receive the award.
Today, The French scientist works as an academic at a Swiss university and has his book on narcissistic personalities.
“When you go through an experience like this, you need to explore other areas of science, such as psychology, to understand better. That brings some peace. And I received part of my recognition despite my frustration,” she emphasized in the podcast.
You can listen to the full program by clicking click on this link.
