French researchers Francoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier are being awarded with the 2008 Nobel Prize for medicine in Stockholm today in recognition of their 1983 discovery of HIV, The Associated Press reports.

The prizes—including 10 million kronor ($1.2 million), a diploma and gold medal—are always handed out December 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896. In his will, Nobel stipulated that the award be given to those who “have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind” in their fields.

Barré-Sinoussi and Montagnier shared the award with Germany’s Harald zur Hausen, who was honored for discovering human papillomaviruses (HPV) that cause cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women.

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