Havana, December 22 (RHC)-- Japanese professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka has been awarded UNESCO's 2015 Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology. The prize-awarding ceremony was held Monday, December 21st, at the Cuban Academy of Sciences, in Havana.

Director of the International Research Center for Infectious Diseases at the University of Tokyo and Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Yoshihiro Kawaoka is an internationally recognized expert in the influenza and Ebola viruses.

He receives the Prize in recognition of his overall contribution to microbiology. The gene technology he developed has allowed for the creation of flu vaccines for some viruses, notably those that can cause pandemics.

Moreover, the technology involved has benefited fundamental research and improved scientists' understanding of the flu and Ebola viruses.

Professor Kawaoka was designated by the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, on the recommendation of an international jury of experts in microbiology.