Mexican physiologist and neurobiologist René Raúl Drucker Colín has been awarded the 2011 Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The award was created in 1951 and is given out every two years to individuals who have made a significant contribution towards presenting science and technology to a general public.

Best known for identifying the role played by neurotransmitters during sleep, Professor Drucker Colín writes regularly for La Jornada, a daily Mexican newspaper, and has also participated regularly on the science programs of Televisa, a national television broadcaster.

The selection was made by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova on the recommendation of an international jury. Professor Drucker Colín will receive $20,000, the silver UNESCO-Albert Einstein medal and a certificate at a ceremony on Wednesday in Bhubaneswar, India.