CV Science

Christophe Guilluy PhD

Course and current status

→January 2016 – now:Group leader at Institute for Advanced Biosciences (Grenoble)

→2012 – 2015: Research fellow/Chargé de recherche (CR1) Inserm, Institut du Thorax.

→2008 – August 2012: Postdoctoral Fellow - Keith Burridge's laboratory

Univeristy of North Carolina USA.

→2004 – 2007: PhD, Vascular Biology - Université de Nantes.

→1998 – 2003: Veterinary Degree - Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Nantes.

Scientific summary

Our research aims to understand how cells are regulated by the mechanical properties of their surrounding environment. Over the last 20 years, studies have revealed that changes in matrix rigidity or application of force are major determinants of cell phenotype, sufficient to direct stem cell differentiation or promote malignant behavior. In the lab, we combine biochemical and biophysics approaches to investigate the molecular mechanisms that regulate nuclear structure and function in response to mechanical tension. Recent projects have been exploring:

1. Nucleoskeleton remodeling in response to cell-generated tension. We recently showed that tensional forces applied to isolated nuclei trigger signaling pathways, revealing that mechanotransduction can occur within the nucleus. We are now investigating the molecular mechanisms that regulate nucleoskeleton in response to changes in matrix rigidity and how they impact cell morphology, cell division and transcription.

2. Mechanotransduction in stem cells. Seminal work from the Chen and Discher lab showed that mechanical stress plays a major role in stem cell differentiation in vitro. We are exploring the structural peculiarities which allow stem cells to transmit/transduce mechanical signals and contribute to regulate stemness and differentiation.