Sébastien Besteiro PhD in Biology and health
Course and current status
Education :
1998-2002 University of Bordeaux II, France PhD in Biology and Health (with honours)
1997-1998 University of Bordeaux II, France D.E.A. (pre-doctoral research) in Biology and Health
1996-1997 University of Bordeaux II, France Maîtrise (MSc) in Cellular Biology and Physiology
1995-1996 University of Bordeaux II, France Licence (BSc) in Cellular Biology and Physiology
1993-1995 University of Bordeaux I, France DEUG B (Diploma of Higher Education) in Life Sciences
1992-1993 Lycée Jean Moulin, Langon, France Baccalauréat D (secondary school diploma) in Biology and Mathematics
Jobs and practical training :
October 2007-present Inserm researcher at the Dynamique moléculaire des interactions membranaires laboratory, UMR CNRS 5235. Université de Montpellier II. France.
December 2006-October 2007 Post-doctoral research assistant at the Dynamique moléculaire des interactions membranaires, UMR CNRS 5235 laboratory. University of Montpellier II. France.
April 2002-October 2006 Post-doctoral research assistant at the Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Glasgow Biomedical Research Centre, University of Glasgow. United Kingdom.
October 1998-March 2002 PhD student at the Génomique Fonctionnelle des Trypanosomatides. UMR CNRS 5162 laboratory. University of Bordeaux II. France.
September 1997-September 1998 Pre-doctoral research placement at the UMR Génomique-Développement-Pouvoir Pathogène, Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, Institut de Biologie Végétale Moléculaire, INRA laboratory. France
Scientific summary
Most of my PhD studies were devoted to the study of the energy metabolism of the procyclic forms of parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of sleeping sickness. Then, during my post-doc, I was involved in the study of trafficking pathways involved towards the degradative machinery from related Trypanosomatid Leishmania.
My current research interests are focused on two protozoan parasites belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa: Toxoplasma gondii, the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, and Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria.
As these medically important protozoa are obligate intracellular parasites, our laboratory is interested in the mechanisms they use to invade their host cells and how they further develop intracellularly. For instance, we are among those involved in the molecular characterisation of a particular structure crucial for the invasion of the host cell by Toxoplasma and Plasmodium zoites: the moving junction.
Current projects on Plasmodium also involve, together with the team of Henri Vial and chemists from the University of Montpellier, the metabolomic analysis of soluble phospholipid precursors that are essential for parasite development.
Finally, my main research project is centered on the function of autophagy, a self-degradative pathway conserved in eukaryotic cells, in the intracellular development of T. gondii.
