Pierre Corvol was born in Boulogne-sur-Seine in 1941. He studied both medicine and science at the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science in Paris. Appointed intern at Paris hospitals in 1966, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda (USA) in 1969-1970. On his return from the USA, he took up clinical practice in cardiovascular medicine at the Hôpital Broussais and then at the Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou. From 1982 to 2006, he was also involved in fundamental research, heading the Inserm research unit " Vascular pathology and renal endocrinology ".
Appointed Professor at the Collège de France, holding the Experimental Medicine Chair from 1989 to 2012, Pierre Corvol administered the Collège de France from 2006 to 2012 as President of the Collège de France Assembly. During his term as administrator, he introduced and developed digital recording of all opening lectures, lectures and conferences, so that today the Collège de France offers the world a vast and rich collection of digital documents, accessible free of charge, covering a multitude of academic disciplines. As administrator, Pierre Corvol also continued the architectural renovation of the Collège initiated by his predecessor, Prof. Jacques Glowinski, and welcomed new research teams in biology, physics and chemistry. In 2008, he created the Fondation du Collège de France, tasked with creating a network of patrons for the institution. Last but not least, he broadened the College's teaching offering with the creation of three annual chairs dedicated respectively to Technological Innovation, Computer Sciences and Knowledge against Poverty.
His research has focused on the hormonal regulation of blood pressure, demonstrating the crucial role of the renin angiotensin aldosterone system in the control of cardiac and renal function. He has helped decipher the cascade of cellular and molecular events that lead to the production of angiotensin, a potent vasoactive hormone that also stimulates aldosterone production by the adrenal gland. His research team has elucidated the structure of the various molecules in this system, clarified their cellular localization and demonstrated their role in controlling blood pressure and water and salt metabolism in human physiology and pathology. His work has contributed to the design and development of drugs and treatments commonly used in hypertension, cardiovascular and renal diseases, in particular angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. He initiated the very first studies on the genetics of human arterial hypertension, which are being actively pursued in various centers. His most recent lectures have focused on the formation of blood vessels during embryogenesis and in various physio-pathological conditions such as cancer and degenerative cardio- and neuro-vascular diseases.
Pierre Corvol is a former Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of Inserm and of the Scientific Advisory Board of Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP). In 1992, he contributed to the conception and creation of Clinical Investigation Centers in France, which provide researchers and clinicians with the resources they need to transfer the results of fundamental research to patients.
In 2016, he devoted himself to promoting scientific integrity, submitting a report at the request of the Ministry of Research, of Higher Education and Innovation, one of whose main recommendations was the creation of a French Office of Scientific Integrity, to be established in 2017.
Pierre Corvol is a member of the French Academy of Sciences, which he chaired in 2019 and 2020, the European Academy of Sciences, the French National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He holds honorary doctorates from several foreign universities and is Professor Emeritus at the Collège de France.
He has received several major scientific awards, including the Excellence Award for Hypertension Research (1985), the Inserm Grand Prix (2006) and the Leonardo da Vinci Award (2019).