> Download the PDF press release including the entire Virchow Prize Committee rationale here
Berlin, Germany – June 2, 2026
Jean-Jacques Muyembe and Peter Piot are being honored with the international award of €500,000 for exceptional life-long leadership spanning five decades since the first outbreak of Ebola | Festive award ceremony on October 10 at Berlin City Hall
The Virchow Prize 2026 is bestowed upon
Jean-Jacques Muyembe
Université de Kinshasa, DR Congo
Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, DR Congo
and
Peter Piot
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
„for their pioneering and enduring leadership in the discovery, control, and understanding of epidemic threats, and for advancing equitable, multilateral cooperation and governance that have fundamentally strengthened global preparedness and solidarity in the face of infectious disease outbreaks”
The announcement was made today by the Virchow Foundation, granting the annual award endowed with €500,000. The selection of the laureates by the independent Virchow Prize Committee was preceded by a nomination period that ended on February 28, followed by a three-month deliberation period.
This moment resonates with particular historical gravity: 2026 marks both fifty years since the emergence of Ebola and a renewed confrontation with the virus through the current outbreak and unpreparedness.
According to the committee, the careers of Jean‑Jacques Muyembe and Peter Piot are anchored in a defining moment of modern infectious disease history: the first identified Ebola outbreak in 1976. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Muyembe led field investigations under challenging conditions, gathering crucial samples and laying the foundation for identifying the Ebola virus. At the same time, Piot, working in Belgium, analyzed the samples from the field and contributed to the scientific characterization of this previously unknown pathogen. Their collaboration demonstrated the necessity of crossing contextual, disciplinary and geographic boundaries, highlighting both the potential and the inequities inherent in global health partnerships. Over the decades, both Muyembe and Piot have worked – partly closely together, partly independent from each other in complementary ways – to transform epidemic research in an exemplary manner, firmly rooted in equity, reciprocity, and shared leadership.
Taken together, the laureates’ contributions illustrate a continuum that is central to advancing health for all: from discovery to delivery, from local response to global coordination, from emergency action to long-term system strengthening. Their work has directly improved the ability to detect, understand, and control deadly outbreaks, while also influencing broader frameworks for addressing global health challenges in a manner that is equitable and inclusive.
By awarding the Virchow Prize 2026 equally to Jean‑Jacques Muyembe and Peter Piot, their scientific achievements and their commitment to strengthening health systems and fostering global solidarity are honored. The laureates’ legacy embodies Rudolf Virchow’s insight that health is inseparable from social organisation, governance, and collective responsibility.
The festive Virchow Prize Ceremony, attended by 300 high-ranking international guests from science, academia, politics, civil society, and the private sector, will take place on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at Berlin City Hall (Rotes Rathaus Berlin).
Further information:
- Complete Virchow Prize Committee jury rationale: virchowprize.org/vp2026
About the Virchow Prize and the Virchow Foundation
With its annual awarding of the Virchow Prize, the non-profit Virchow Foundation highlights and supports the efforts of the United Nations to preserve the health of people and the planet by setting a leading example of underscoring health as predestined entry point to and most important outcome of the UN 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by emphasizing the health-related interdependencies of all 17 SDGs. The Virchow Prize honors individuals and organisations for their groundbreaking innovations, outstanding contributions and lifetime achievements in improving global health on the path to ‘health for all’. The Virchow Foundation was established in 2021 on the occasion of the 200th birthday of its namesake Rudolf Virchow, with support of the Presidents of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities as well as Members of the German Bundestag and civil society, aiming to contribute to the improvement of health worldwide. More than 40 leading international experts serve the Virchow Foundation’s committees on an honorary basis.
Contact:
Virchow Foundation
Berlin Global Health Collective
Dorotheenstr. 83
DE-10117 Berlin
Germany
T: +49 (0) 30 2063 0613
press@virchow.foundation
