Digital publication of Prof. Denis Duboule's opening lecture 

Denis Duboule

The times of the embryo

At the intersection of evolutionary biology, developmental biology, embryogenesis, genetics and genomics, this opening lecture examines the different temporalities of the embryo. It also discusses recent technological approaches for producing and culturing pseudo-embryos in vitro, which could eventually lead to the possibility of conceiving and growing embryos entirely ex utero, without even using germ cells. This new field of research raises essential ethical and social questions that require careful consideration.

Duboule D., Les Temps de l'embryon, Paris, Collège de France, coll. " Leçons inaugurales ",^no 323, 2024.

Denis Duboule is a geneticist. His research focuses on the genetic regulatory mechanisms involved in mammalian development. A professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and the University of Geneva, he has been invited to the Collège de France to hold a multi-year international chair since 2017. In 2022, he will be appointed to the Evolution of Development and Genomes chair at the Collège de France.