CV Science

Christophe Combadiere PhD Biochemistry/Cell biology

Course and current status

2014       Head of Research Center, Senior scientist DR2 (Director of Research)

               Research Center for Immunology and Microbial Infections CIMI

               Inserm U1135/CNRS ERL 8255/UPMC CR7,

               Faculté de Médecine Pierre et Marie Curie, site Pitié-Salpètrière, Paris 75013

2008-2013      Team Leader, Senior Scientist, DR2 (Director of Research)

                  Laboratory of “Immunité et Infection” directed by Pr. Mazier,

                  INSERM UMR-S945, Faculté de Médecine, Paris 75013

Theme of research: Chemokines in Pathologies and Inflammation

2005-2007      Team Leader, Senior Scientist, DR2 (Director of Research)

                      Laboratory of Cellular Immunology directed by Pr. Debré,

                       INSERM U543, Faculté de Médecine, Paris 75013

Theme of research: Role of chemokine receptors in the immune response

2001-2005      Principal Investigator, CR1

                       Laboratory of Cellular Immunology directed by Pr. Debré,

                       INSERM U543, Faculté de Médecine, Paris 75013

Theme of research: Role of chemokine receptors in the immune response

1997-2001      Principal Investigator, CR2

                       INSERM U479 du Pr. Gougerot-Pocidalo

                       CHU X. Bichat, Paris 75018

Theme of research: Role of chemokine receptors in the inflammatory response

1993-1997      Postdoctoral fellow, Laboratory of Host Defenses,

                       Chief of section Dr. P. M. Murphy

                       NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA,

Theme of research: Characterization of new chemokine receptors

Scientific summary

Harnessing Inflammation through Cell Mobility Control

Directed cell migration accompanies us from conception to death. In the adult, cell migration is central to homeostatic processes such as mounting an effective immune response and the repair of injured tissues. It contributes to pathologies including infections, vascular diseases, chronic inflammatory diseases, and cancers. My entire scientific career was focused on deciphering the molecular mechanisms controlling directed-cell migration, on understanding cellular pathways leading to immune cell redistribution and on developing molecular tools to redirect cell trafficking and functions.
The research program of the team « Chemokines in Pathology and Inflammation » (CHIPI) is dedicated specifically to the role of chemokines (CK) and their receptor (CKR) in inflammation.  The relevance of the program is 1) that CK/CKR are involved in the recruitment and function of the principal cellular actors of inflammation and 2) that some natural variations of CK/CKR affect susceptibility and/or severity to diseases. The program consists to define the role of CK/CKR in pathological conditions, using a strategy that combine immunogenetic, functional and structural studies in order to develop therapeutical tools.  Although widely open to several clinical applications, this program is nevertheless restricted to a set of CK/CKR (CX3CR1, CCR1, CCR2, CCR5 and “decoy” receptors such as ACKR2) chosen for a) their known polymorphism described by us and others, b) several mouse models including KO strains produced by us and several others breed in our facility, and c) access to patient cohorts .