CV Science

Mathilde TOUVIER Director of the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team, PhD

Course and current status

Dr Mathilde Touvier is a Research Director at Inserm, principal investigator of the NutriNet-Santé cohort. She is a graduate of AgroParisTech and Doctor in Epidemiology and Public Health. After six years at the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) and one year as a visiting researcher at Imperial College London, she joined the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team CRESS-EREN (U1153 Inserm / Inrae / Cnam / Université Sorbonne Paris Nord / Université Paris Cité), of which she became Director in 2019. She coordinates researches on the links between nutrition and health (e.g. PI of a European Research Council ERC Consolidator Grant 2020-2025 on the impact of industrial food, food additives and food processing on health), with >435 publications in this field. She is expert in several workshops, e.g. at the French National Cancer Institute (INCa), the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (France 2030 ambassador), the international network Global Burden of Disease, and she is member of the Scientific Council of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO-IARC). She received the Inserm Research Prize in 2019 and a prize from the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation in 2021. She has been appointed Professor at the College de France in Public Health for 2022-2023. She received the ERC Public Engagement with Research Award in 2024.

 

Current position

Research Director (DR1) at INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical Research), tenured position, France

Director of the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN: INSERM U1153 / INRAE / Cnam / Sorbonne Paris Nord University / Paris Cité University, n≈100 people) at the Centre of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), France

Principal Investigator of the NutriNet-Santé cohort (n>179,000)

 

Education

• Habilitation to supervise research (HDR) (2014)
• PhD in Epidemiology (2003-2006)
• Master in Epidemiology, Medical Faculty of Nancy (2002-2003)
• AgroParisTech engineering school, specialized in Human nutrition (1999-2002)
• “Classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles” Math-Sup/Math-Spé Bio (1997-1999)
• French baccalaureate diploma in mathematics, awarded with Upper Honors (1997)

 

Previous positions

 

• INSERM U1153 - EREN (2010-current position): Researcher
• Imperial College London, UK - Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health (2010): Post-doctoral researcher
• INSERM U1153 - EREN (2008-2009): Post-doctoral researcher
• French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) (CDI-permanent position) and (half-time) INSERM U1018-Team 9 (2002-2008): Epidemiologist
• University of Davis, California USA - Department of Nutrition, (2001): Graduate intern

Scientific summary

Fellowships, grants and distinctions

Funding obtained (n=65 grants, among which 41 as PI, public or associative funds), e.g: ERC Consolidator grant 2020-2025, Impact Santé Inserm 2025-2027, French National Cancer Institute (INCa) competitive calls for proposals (Epidemiology & Public Health 2019-2023, 2017-2019 and 2014-2018; PhD grants 2016 and 2019; prevention research 2014-2017), WP leader H2020 JPI Healthy Diet for Healthy Life (Oxygenate project, 2017-2020), Foundations competitive calls for proposals (Medical Research Foundation FRM 2019-2021, Fondation de France 2015-2018, Pasteur Institute 2016-2019, French Research Institute of Public Health (IRESP) 2011-2014, French Ministry of Health 2019-2023, PEPR SAMS (France 2030) 2023-2027

Recipient of the INSERM Research Prize (2019)

Recipient of a European Research Council (ERC) consolidator grant on cocktail of food additives and health (2020-2025)

Winner of the ERC Public Engagement with Research Award (2024)

Recipient of the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation Research Prize “Coup d’élan pour la recherche française” 2021

Recipient of the Research Award of the French Nutrition Society (SFN) (2013)

 

Expertize, responsibilities and committees

Member (representative for France) of the Scientific Council of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO-IARC) (2021-2025)

Member of the Steering committee “Education, Research and Ecosystems” France 2030 at the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (2022-xx)

Co-Chair of the PAIR Cancer-Obesity INCa-Ligue contre le cancer, 2022-2023

Member of the Public Health Specialised Scientific Commission INSERM CSS6, France (2016-2026)

Member of the Strategic Council of the Public Health Institute, Inserm (since 2024) 

Member of the Scientific Council of Universcience (Palais de la découverte / Cité des sciences et de l'industrie) (since 2024)

Member of the World Cancer Research Fund International Global Cancer Update Programme (CUP-Global) panel (2022-2025)

Expert, Nutrition Referee for France, International network Global Burden of Disease (since 2017)

Expert, Member of the follow-up committee of the French National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS4), Ministry of Health (since 2020)

Expert, International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO-IARC), Attributable risk fractions (2015-2018), Aspartame Monograph (2023)

Expert, European Commission (EU DG Health and Food Safety), working group on public health nutrition policies (2018)

Expert in several working groups of the following national institutes/agencies: French National Cancer Institute (INCa, since 2013), French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (Anses, since 2013), High Council of Public Health (HCSP, 2018), World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF, since 2022)

Expert, auditions at the National Assembly (2018, 2020, 2021, 2023), the Sénat (2019, 2022), the National Diet Council (CNA, 2020, 2021), the UK House of Lords (2024), Canadian Ministry of Health Best brain exchange (2024)

Expert, member of the Strategic Orientation Committee of the Alliance Contre le Tabac (since 2020)

Member of the steering committee, Nutrition and Cancer network (NACRe, since 2010)

Member of the Board of Directors, French Nutrition Society (SFN, 2015-2017)

 

Teaching and training

Professor at the College de France in Nutrition and Public Health (2022-2023)

Direction of 15 PhD (+co-supervision of 4 visiting PhD), 12 Post-doc, 16 Master’s interns

In charge of a teaching module (20h/y), Master “Nutrition and Public health”, Sorbonne Paris Nord University

Visiting Lecturer in Nutritional Epidemiology in several French Universities: Sorbonne Paris Nord (21h/y), Paris 7 (2h/y), Bordeaux (2h/y), AgroParisTech (5h/y), Nutritional e-epidemiology Seminar (2h/y) for Columbia University (NY) students

Member of 22 PhD and 5 HDR juries and 15 competitive recruitment panels for researchers/ engineers, Paris 11&13, Clermont-Ferrand, AgroParisTech Universities, and INSERM, France

 

Publications and scientific communications

438 publications in international peer-reviewed journals, among which 28 as 1^st and 96 as last author

Web of Science: H Index=77 (Citations without self-citations: >47,500), 34 "Highly Cited Papers", Normalized citation index = 11.5.

152 invited conferences (e.g. Genève 2024, London 2024, Newcatsle 2024, Zurich 2023, Laval Québec 2022, Vienne 2021, Munich 2021, Rome 2020, Bruxelles 2020, Dublin 2019, Seattle 2018, Newcastle 2010) / 258 oral communications / 243 posters / 26 scientific reports

 

Scientific communication to the public

Key involvement in Public Health Nutrition communication:ranked researcher #1 in press coverage in Inserm's annual report: frequent national/international media interviews (TV, radio, newspapers), ≈3-4/week on average: CNN, BBC, Times Magazine, The Times, The Guardian, France Television, BFM, TF1, Le Monde, France Info, France Inter, RTL, RTS, etc.

Expertise for documentaries and TV programmes (e.g. ARTE: ‘Vitamania’, France 2: ‘A Table’, BBC Panorama)

Regular conferences for the general public in France (e.g. conference on Nutrition & Cancer at ‘Savante Banlieue’, 110 participants/year since 2012: general public, from children to seniors living in Seine Saint Denis, a low-income suburb of Paris; Public conference at the Parc Galéa, Corsica, 2024: >800 attendees)

Coordinator of the Communication committee of the Nutrition and Cancer network (NACRe)

77 book chapters or didactic publications / 18 video spots / 38 Press Release / Main scientific referent for the Inserm exhibition on Nutrition 2024