CV Science

Sophie Conchon PhD Molecular and Cellular Biology

Course and current status

Since Jan.2012 : INSERM Researcher (CR1 -> DR2),  Team #4 of the Centre for Research in Transplantation and Immunology, CR2TI INSERM UMR1064, Nantes, France.

Aug.2005-Dec.2011 : INSERM CR1 Researcher, Laboratory of Hepatic Biotherapies, INSERM U948, Hôtel Dieu Hospital, Nantes, France.

Jan. 2000- Aug.2005 : INSERM CR2 Researcher, Institut Cochin, INSERM U567, Endocrinology Department, Paris, France.

1997-1999 :  Postdoctoral Fellow, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology Division, Cambridge, UK (1998-99 : Marie Curie Fellowship).

1992-1996 : Ph.D.  INSERM U36 – Collège de France, Paris, France.

Scientific summary

The liver plays a unique role in immune regulation, striking a delicate balance between tolerance and immunity. It is continually exposed to endotoxins and products of microbial degradation coming directly from the gut via the portal vein. The liver is also important in detoxification. These processes can lead to persistent inflammation, autoimmune disease and/or cancer. Paradoxically, the liver is also regarded as a site of unique immune privilege and immune tolerance, particularly in the context of transplantation. Liver transplant patients can develop operational tolerance, defined as the maintenance of stable graft function with no harmful immune responses in the absence of immunosuppressive therapy. The projects we develop focus on the liver immune system with applications in cancer immunotherapy, autoimmunity and allogeneic tolerance induction.

Recent work in my group has identified cellular actors that play a role in the induction of allogeneic tolerance, or in the development of autoimmunity in the liver. The projects we develop are in the continuity of this work, combining basic, preclinical and translational research, to understand the transition from tolerance to autoimmunity in the liver, with the development of predictive tests and new therapeutic approaches.