The Collège de France is delighted to announce the selection of four members of the Collège de France among the winners of the " Chaires d'excellence en Biologie-Santé " call for projects: Professors Thomas Lecuit and Lluis Quintana-Murci and Research Directors Marie Manceau and Nathalie Rouach.
The Chair of Excellence in Biology-Health is one of the levers of the Health Innovation Plan 2030. Its aim is to support the work of highly talented researchers in France. With funding of between two and three million euros each, these chairs will enable new large-scale projects to be carried out in France over a period of five years.
The winners were selected in response to a call for projects issued by the French National Research Agency (ANR).
Thomas Lecuit
A biologist, his research focuses on morphogenesis, i.e. the origin of forms, from cells to organisms.
- His project, LivingOrigami, will elucidate the roles of geometry and geometric feedback on cell and tissue biomechanics, and how they determine tissue morphogenesis.
Marie Manceau
Biologist specializing in morphogenesis and developmental and evolutionary biology. She works mainly on birds, using modeling techniques.
- Her project, PLUMAGE, proposes to study the mechanisms responsible for the formation and evolution of avian color patterns (i.e. the spatial distribution of color on the plumage).
Lluis Quintana-Murci
Geneticist specializing in the role of gene-environment interactions.
- As most genomic studies focus on populations exposed to homogeneous environments (urban, Western lifestyles), the role of gene-environment interactions in disease risk remains poorly understood. Her project, EPIGEMI, aims to fill this gap by assessing the extent to which genetic differences between individuals, as well as other factors such as age, sex, lifestyle or nutrition, influence their metabolic state (obesity, blood sugar, or cholesterol levels) and, in turn, how these metabolic variables influence the immune response to disease-causing pathogens.
Nathalie Rouach
Neurobiologist specializing in the role of glial cells in brain physiology and pathology.
- Her project, SensoPAP, will focus on the role of dynamic structural and functional interactions at the nanoscopic level between neurons and astrocytes, star-shaped glial cells that are relatively unexplored yet very abundant in our brain.
