CV Science

Alain Gougeon State Doctor ès sciences, Reproductive biology

Course and current status

2011-Inserm U1052 (Lyon, faculty of medicine Laennec)

2007-Inserm U845 (Lyon, faculty of medicine Laennec)

1997-Inserm U407 (Pierre bénite, faculty of medicine Lyon-Sud)

1992- Director of research inserm, Inserm U355 (Clamart, faculty of medicine Paris Sud)

1981: Chargé de recherche, 1^st class inserm. Inserm U187, (Clamart, faculty of medicine Paris Sud). State Doctor ès sciences thesis. Title: kinetics of the ovarian follicular growth and atresia during the menstrual cycle in human. Paris VI university.

1975: Chargé de recherche, 2^nd class, inserm. Inserm U187, (Clamart, faculty of medicine Paris Sud)

1973: Trainee Research fellow, inserm, laboratory of Reproductive physiology (Clamart, faculty of medicine Paris Sud)

1972: Third cycle doctoral thesis, mention: animal physiology, reproductive biology, title: histological and histoenzymological analysis of the ovarian interstitial gland in two european insectivorous: the mole (Talpa europea) and the hedgehog (Erinaceus europeus), Paris VI university.

1969: Master in sciences, mention: animal physiology, Paris VI university.

1966: General certificate of education, experimental sciences

Scientific summary

I have been working on ovarian function since 1971.

The largest part of my activity was devoted to ovarian folliculogenesis at each step of the follicular development in humans where the main contributions are listed below:

- Characterization of human resting follicles and changes of their number with ageing, showing an accelerated depletion of the stock from the age of 38,

- The chronology of the human follicular growth: I have shown that around 5 to 6 months are required for a follicle to grow from its entry in growth phase till ovulation.

- Classification of human ovarian follicles: the human follicles, from the preantral to the preovulatory stage, have been ranked in eight classes

- Time of selection of the preovulatory follicle, FSH responsiveness of granulosa cells, concepts of basal follicular growth and gonadotropin-regulated follicular growth, effect of exogenous gonadotrophins on growing follicles.

- Morphological and endocrinological aspects of the terminal maturation of the human ovulatory follicle. During the nineties, I have been interested in folliculogenesis in the monkey ovary (macaca fascicularis) in showing the effect of exogenous gonadotrophins and analogs of the Gn-RH on the follicles and oocytes.

I have also published some reviews concerning the primate ovarian folliculogenesis.

More recently, I have studied the gonadotropic regulation of the TGF-ß system (ligand, receptors and Smads) as well as BMP15 and GDF9 in the mouse ovary.

I have been working on the role of somatostatin in regulation of follicular growth initiation in the mammalian ovary since 2003.