Professor Valerie Mizrahi, the director of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cape Town, has been awarded the Grand Prix Christophe Mérieux Prize by the Institute de France in Paris.
The award, made by the Institute's Academy of Sciences will be presented at a ceremony in Paris on 5 June 2013.
Her colleagues hailed her research on mycobacterium tuberculosis and tuberculosis, and applauded her for her involvement in the tuberculosis community both locally and abroad.
Mizrahi said: "For me the most gratifying part of it is that the award committee recognised my commitment to, and passion for, developing people. I've trained so many young scientists - and this award is for them."
Mizrahi plans to use most of the prize money on hiring senior researchers who are able to bring new skills to the laboratory that she runs with IIDMM colleague, Digby Warner, particularly in chemical biology and bioinformatics.