Dominique Mornet PhD Biochemistry (DSc)
Course and current status
Academic Degrees :
-1979: Habilitation à Diriger les Recherches (HDR), University of Montpellier I, France.
-1980 DSc Biochemistry (PhD), University of Paris (Jussieu), - supervisors Prof R. Kassab “Muscle Contraction ".
Appointments
-1974-1976 Assistant Research (Vacataire) in Collège de France, -Paris, France,
-1976-1980 Technician CNRS at the CRBM, Montpellier, France.
– 1980-1982 Research assistant (Governmental Research Fellow) in Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, grade CR1 )
-1982-1984 Visitor in Dr. Manuel Morales Laboratory, San Francisco, USA.
-1984-1987 Research Director in CRBM (CNRS, grade DR2). under the supervision of Rhida Kassab, Montpellier, France.
-1987-1989 Research Director in INSERM U300, (CNRS, grade DR2). Head Research Team « Smooth Muscle », Montpellier, France..
-1989-1998. Research Director in INSERM U128, (CNRS, grade DR2). Head Research Team « Muscle Pathologies» under the supervision of Claude Balny, Montpellier, France..
-1998-2003 Research Director in EA701 , (CNRS, grade DR2).. Head Research Team « Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research”, under the supervision of Jacques Mercier, Montpellier, France..
-2003-2008. Research Director in ERI25 , (CNRS, grade DR2). Head Research Team « Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research” under the supervision of Jacques Mercier, Montpellier, France..
-In 2008 Retired from CNRS Montpellier, France.
From 2008 to Now: Web Master of the Web site U1046 located at UM1, (INSERM Unit U1046, Montpellier, France),
Honors and Awards
Fellowship from NATO / EMBO 1982
Fellowship from MDA 1983-1984
Scientific summary
Maintaining muscle fiber integrity requires many proteins located at the sarcolemma of the muscle fiber. These proteins enable anchorage and structurally functional adhesion with adjacent fibers that also realize relative cohesion of the fiber to make it able to withstand without breaking the contraction-relaxation cycles. So these proteins forming a macromolecular complex, must be as well built by proteins present into the inside cytoplasmic compartment, where are the thick filaments (containing mainly myosin) that slide on fine filaments (containing mainly actin), as within the outside network of collagen and laminin which form the extracellular matrix via the two dystroglycan proteins (alpha and beta forms). This macromolecular complex confers flexibility and maintains intact fiber membrane during contractions cycles. In the center of such an assembly there is an essential protein named Dystrophin. Our field of research was then, aside the biochemical approaches into learning the properties of the Dystrophin complex, to investigate many aspects of muscular Dystrophies, and help to propose new ways of Therapy. Actually still watching at new advances in this research field in relationship with muscle pathologies, my role is to update as well as possible the main advances of the team U1046 in their most important discoveries in “PHYSIOLOGY & EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE: HEART - MUSCLES “. (See specific web site: http://www.univ-montp1.fr/recherche/unites_de_recherche/physiologie_medecine_experimentale_du_caeur_et_des_muscles_inserm_u1046
).
