Vertebrate blood vessels form stereotyped, hierarchical branched networks. Specialized endothelial cells (EC) called tip cells located at the extremities of growing capillary sprouts mediate their directional outgrowth. Research in Anne Eichmann’s laboratory is aimed at understanding the function of tip cell-specific signaling molecules, with the goal to manipulate guided vascular...
X-inactivation is a process by which one of the two X chromosomes is transcriptionally silenced during early development in female mammals. It allows for dosage compensation between XX females and XY males. Edith Heard is studying this paradigm for developmental epigenetics to gain insights into the fundamental mechanisms that underlie...
Bernardo Reina San Martin is interested in the molecular mechanisms driving the diversification of the repertoire of B-cells, the cells of our immune system producing antibodies. He specifically investigates somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR), two processes involved in the immune response to generate an antibody mediated answer,...
In adults, cell renewal is precisely controlled, notably by a mechanism involving Dependence Receptors in the control of cell death. In certain cancers, cells escape this process, which gives them a supplementary selective advantage to uncontrollably multiply and form tumors. Patrick Mehlen deciphers those mechanisms to offer novel ways to...
Patrick Delmas is interested in sensory neurons that translate thermal, chemical, and mechanical stimuli. His goal is to understand the molecular basis of somatosensation - the process whereby we experience touch and pain - with an emphasis on identifying molecules that regulate electrogenesis of sensory neurons and detect environmental stimuli....
Alternative splicing is a process allowing cells to make different products from one gene. Since it was discovered over three decades ago now, it has been shown that it has key roles especially in tissue differentiation and pathologies like hereditary diseases and cancer. Frédéric Allain is determining with his team the...
Giacomo Cavalli is investigating heredity and gene regulation laws beyond DNA sequence. He and his lab discovered that the 3D structure of chromosomes can be heritable and that it contributes to genome regulation. Furthermore, they provided the first high-resolution description of the principles of genome folding in animals. Finally, the...
Raphael Mercier aims at understanding the different aspects the cell division at the heart of heredity, meiosis. Using genetic approaches, he and his group are deciphering the mechanisms of meiotic recombination, cell cycle regulation and chromosome segregation....
Arnaud Echard is interested in the role of membrane trafficking in lipid and cytoskeleton remodeling at each step of animal cell division....
Rafal Ciosk's research focuses on understanding the mechanisms involved in cell fate commitment and reprogramming, universal biological processes. He is using a combination of molecular, biochemical and genomic approaches in the experimental model C. elegans to decipher the molecular regulation of pluripotency in germ cells, which involves mechanisms of mRNA...