CV Science

herve puy Professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, MD, PhD

Course and current status

Herve PUY, MD, DSc, is Professor of Medical Biochemistry-Molecular Biology at the University Paris Diderot, Faculty of Medicine, Director of Team HIROS “Heme Iron Oxydative Stress” Centre de Recherche sur l’Inflammation CRI-INSERM U1149, Head of the Department of Biochemistry-Molecular Biology-Nutrition  and Metabolism and of the Pôle Biology-Research at the University Hospital Paris Nord Val de Seine. He followed a MD, cursus at the Faculty of Medicine of Lille, with the qualification in Medical Biology in 1990 and a PhD cursus in Sciences, at the Faculty of Sciences of the University Paris 6 Pierre et Marie Curie of Paris and the degree of Doctor of Science in Genetics in 1999. He is recruited as Master of Conferences - Hospitaller Practitioner in 1995 and appointed Professor of Universities - Hospital Practitioner in 2001. Prior to this appointment, he made several post doc stays at the UK University of Wales Cardiff (Prof. G;E Elder) and the Biozentrum of Basel (with UA Meyer as mentor). He then directs the Laboratory of Biochemistry Universitary Hospital Ambroise Pare and directs one research teams of Inserm Unit U409 (Directors B. Grandchamp and C. Beaumont) and obtains the creation of an INSERM team in 2010 in the Research Center on Inflammation (CRI; Prof R. Monteiro), which has recreated and extended in 2019-23 : HIROS "Heme Iron and Oxydative Stress". This team brings together nearly 28 people, including 3 INSERM/CNRS researchers and 8 academic investigators in experimental and clinical research, around a project on the metabolic interactions between heme, iron, glycosylation, genes and the environment. In this context he has been executive member of the European Porphyria Network (EPNET); founding member of the European network METABERN and of the "national metabolic care chain on rare diseases G2M". In this context, he has been principal investigator of many national contracts. In Universitary Hospital he directs the Pôle BioPhaRe "Biology and Research" and has contributed to the creation of the Referent Center for Porphyrias and microcytic anaemias in which he carries out a very specialized medical consultation on rare metabolic diseases with a national and international recruitment of patients.

Current academic positions: Elected member of the 44-01 section of the French National Universittee Comittee (CNU: medical biochemistry and molecular biology), corresponding member of the French National Academy of Medicine, President of the national college of Medical Biology, Independent scientific commission of the National Agency for continuing medical education.

Past-academic positions: President of the French national college of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2016-2019).

Current management and networks: Director of the Biology of the Universitary Hospital aphp.7. CoLeader of the CNMR "Centre Français des Porphyries". Head of the INSERM U1149 HIROS (2019-2023). Executive Member EPNET (founded DG SANCO) and founding member of METABERN

Editorial and peer review activity: Peer review activity : New Engl J MED? cELL mETAB, The Lancet, JCI, Nat. Genet, hepatology, Blood, J Hepatol Haematology, J Intern Med, Hum Mol Genet, ....etc

Scientific summary

Main research interest: Heme biosynthesis, iron metabolism and porphyrias: molecular epidemiology and pathophysiology : Co-head of INSERM Unit U1149 CRI: research center on inflammation; Pôle de Recherche et d'Enseignement Supérieur, Sorbonne Paris-Cité, Paris, France. “Heme iron and inflammatory  diseases”
My topic is focused on the heme and iron metabolism and erythropoiesis including pathologies related thereto (porphyria, hemochromatosis, microcytic anemia). My projects are driven largely by the clinical activity of the French Porphyrias Centre (Hôpital Louis Mourier), the molecular diagnostic activity of rare microcytic anemia, conducted genetic Hospital Bichat Laboratory of Biochemistry. All these translational and clinical activities take place inside the Pôle of biology that I manage.
The metabolism of iron and heme are closely linked, because of the need to coordinate the synthesis of protoporphyrin IX and iron bioavailability to ensure good control of the synthesis of heme erythroid precursors in the bone marrow in the liver and in the kidney. Recently we are mainly involved in:
• The iron, heme and erythropoiesis during erythropoietic porphyria, anemia of inflammatory conditions, genetic microcytic anemias associated with abnormal metabolism of iron and Aplasia.
• The role of hepcidin in iron homeostasis in the liver, kidney, intestine and control of bacterial infections.
• The pathophysiology and treatment of hepatic porphyria attacks and the response to treatment with exogenous heme related to oxidative stress and inflammation.

Example of contribution as author:

3 New Engl J MED (1998, 2017, 2018); The Lancet (2010); 3 Nat.Genet. (2002, 2012, 2012); 2 Cell Metab (2010, 2015); J Clin Invest (1996); 5 Gastroenterology (1994, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2016); 4 Hepatology (1996, 1997, 1998, 2017); 8 Am J Hum Genet (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2019); PNAS (2017); 6 BLOOD (1998, 1999, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019); 2 J Hepatl (1999, 2000); 2 JASN (2016, 2017); 2 Kidney Intern (2013, 2015); 5 Hum Mol Genet (1996, 1998, 2005, 2015, 2018); Eur J Heart Fail (2017); 3 Haematologica (2017, 2018, 2018); J Intern Med (2018); Trends Mol Med (2019).