Philippe Sansonetti
Philippe J. Sansonetti ( * 1949 ) is a French microbiologist and teaches at the Pasteur Institute and at the Collège de France in Paris. He is the head of the INSERM Unit 786 " Microbial colonization and invasion of the mucosa " and laboratory " pathogeny Micro Bienne Moléculaire " ( Molecular Microbial Pathogenesis ).
Life
Sansonetti studied microbiology, virology and immunology at the Pasteur Institute and completed his studies in biology at the University of Paris VII in 1978. In 1979, he earned his medical degree at the University of Paris VII
After 4 years as a research fellow of the " bacteriology Médicale " ( Medical Bacteriology ) with Léon Le Minor, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the USA at Samuel Formal in the Department of Intestinal Diseases at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington DC.
In 1981 he returned to the Pasteur Institute and was Group Head of intestinal bacteria until 1989 he founded his own department " pathogeny Micro Bienne Moléculaire " ( Molecular Microbial Pathogenesis ). Between 1981 and 1985 he also worked as a doctor and from 1985 to 1995 Head of a day hospital. From 1995 to 1999 and from 2004 to 2007 he was medical director of the Pasteur Clinic. He was Head of the Department of Bacteriology and Mycology (1989-1992) and the Department of Cell Biology and Infection (2002-2006) of the Pasteur Institute. Philippe Sansonetti has held several offices in the scientific management of the Inserm and was chairman of the " Steering Committee on Diarrheal Diseases Vaccine Development " in the World Health Organization.
Life's work and prices
The main scientific interest of Philippe Sansonetti located in the pathogenesis of dysentery. His work encompasses several disciplines of biology and medicine. He wrote important contributions to molecular genetics, cell biology, immunology and vaccine development. Sansonetti showed that the virulence of Shigella is based on a large plasmid encoding inter alia, a secretion of the type III ( T3SS ), which is necessary for the penetration into the cells of the intestinal epithelium. He also described the molecular mechanisms that lead to cell invasion and intracellular motility. He showed that Shigella macrophages are eliminated by Pyroptose. He also found that intracellular bacteria are detected by Nod proteins, resulting in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. He showed that Shigella produced T3S effectors which modulate both the innate and the adaptive immune response. He is also working on the development of a vaccine that protects against the major Shigella serotypes.
Prof. Sansonetti is the author of over 300 publications and recognized was the editor of several scientific journals. He is one of the founders of cellular microbiology and founded an eponymous journal.
His scientific achievements have been honored with numerous awards, including:
- Jacques- Monod Award for Molecular Biology
- Louis -Jeantet Prize for Medicine
- Robert Koch Prize
- Andre Lwoff Medal of the FEMS.
He was appointed Knight of the Legion of Honour and Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite. Next he became a member of EMBO, the French Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina (since 2002), the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was elected a corresponding member of the French Academy of Medicine. He is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists. Since 2008 he holds the Chair of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the Collège de France.