CURRENT POSITION
Deputy Director of the National Reference Center of Listeria and the WHO Collaborating Center Listeria of the Institut Pasteur
Chairperson of the European Committee for Standardization CEN TC463 (Microbiology of the food chain), CEN, Brussels
EDUCATION
1990-1995 M.S. Engineer in Agriculture and Agricultural Technologies, Institut Supérieur Agricole de Beauvais, France
1995 Master in microbiology, technology and management of the food industry, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium
1995-1996 Degree in general microbiology, medical bacteriology, tropical microbiology, electron microscopy (Cryotechnics), Institut Pasteur
Paris 2002 Certification of person Expert in food risks / HACCP, CEPR, Niort
2003 Master in Microbiology and Food Hygiene, Institut Pasteur, Lille
2008 Specialization in animal experimentation for level 1 biologist, Lycée Voltaire, Orléans
PAST ACTIVITIES
1996-1997 Scientific. Central Studies and Research Service of the French Army Commissariat (SCERCAT), Central Laboratory Division, Saint-Cloud, France
1997-2000 Academic Research and teaching assistant, Department of applied chemistry and bio-industry, Faculty of agricultural sciences, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium
2000-2003 Scientific manager / Laboratory Head, Department of food safety and microbiology, Institut Pasteur, Lille
2003-2007 Coordinator of the national surveillance network for enteropathogenic Yersinia. Institut Pasteur, Yersinia Research Unit, National Reference Center and WHO Collaborating Center for Yersinia, Institut Pasteur
2008-2017 On-call Biologist, Emergency Biological Intervention Unit, Institut Pasteur
2014-2017 Scientific coordinator of the European CEN Mandate M381 of DG SANTE / DG GROW on the international validation of 15 reference methods in Microbiology of the food chain (3.120 k €; 150 laboratories; 35 Nations; 15 interlaboratoires studies) May-June
2018 WHO Food Safety Expert, NICD, Listeriosis outbreak in South Africa
2023-2027 Member of Joint FAO/WHO Expert meetings on Microbial risk Assessment (JEMRA)
AWARDS
1996 Brother Jean-Baptiste GAGNE Award, Institut Supérieur Agricole de Beauvais, Beauvais
1996 Professor DE VUYST Award, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
1997-2000 Course in general microbiology, food microbiology, organic and mineral chemistry, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium
2000-2003 Deputy director of the education and training department, Institut Pasteur, Lille 2003-2016 Course on foodborne pathogens, Institut Pasteur, Lille
MEMBER OF A SCIENTIFIC AND PROFESSIONAL BODY AND AN ASSOCIATION
2007-2019 Microbiology / Risk Assessment Expert Division and member of the National BioHazard Expert Committee of the French Food Safety Agency (ANSES)
Member of national (V08B, Afnor, Paris), European (CEN TC275 / WG6, CEN TC463, CEN, Brussels) and international (ISO TC34 / SC9, ISO, Geneva) organizations on microbiology of the food chain, and international (ISO TC212) organization on clinical laboratory testing and in vitro diagnostic test systems
Technical assessor (quality management) (food and water microbiology, molecular biology, ISO 17025, ISO 17043, ISO 17034, ISO 15189) for official French, Belgian, Luxembourg and Swiss accreditation bodies (COFRAC, BELAC, OLAS, SAS)
2018-2021 Court expert at the Paris Court of Appeal (Headings: Agribusiness / Food quality and safety)
Member of French and American microbiology societies
SELECTED LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
Thomas J, Govender N, McCarthy KM, Erasmus LK, Doyle TJ, Allam M, Ismail A, Ramalwa N, Sekwadi P, Ntshoe G, Shonhiwa A, Essel V, Tau N, Smouse S, Ngomane HM, Disenyeng B, Page NA, Govender NP, Duse AG, Stewart R, Thomas T, Mahoney D, Tourdjman M, Disson O, Thouvenot P, Maury MM, Leclercq A, Lecuit M, Smith AM, Blumberg LH. Outbreak of Listeriosis in South Africa Associated with Processed Meat. N Engl J Med. 2020 Feb 13; 382(7):632-643.
Leclercq A, Hardouin G, Lombard B. European and International validation of 15 main reference methods in the microbiology of the food chain. Int J Food Microbiol. 2019 Jan 2;288:1-2.
Leclercq A, Moura A, Vales G, Tessaud-Rita N, Aguilhon C, Lecuit M. Listeria thailandensis sp. nov. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2019 Jan;69(1):74-81.
Charlier C, Perrodeau E, Leclercq A, Cazenave B, Pilmis B, Henry B, Lopes A, Maury MM, Moura A, Goffinet F, Dieye HB, Thouvenot P, Ungeheuer MN, Tourdjman M, Goulet V, de Valk H, Lortholary O, Ravaud P, Lecuit M, group, M. s. 2017. Clinical features and prognostic factors of listeriosis: the MONALISA national prospective cohort study. Lancet Infect Dis. 17(5):510-519.
Moura A, Tourdjman M, Leclercq A, Hamelin E, Laurent E, Fredriksen N, Van Cauteren D, Bracq-Dieye H, Thouvenot P, Vales G, Tessaud-Rita N, Maury MM, Alexandru A, Criscuolo A, Quevillon E, Donguy MP, Enouf V, de Valk H, Brisse S, Lecuit M. 2017. Real-Time Whole-Genome Sequencing for Surveillance of Listeria monocytogenes, France. Emerg Infect Dis. 23(9):1462-1470.
Moura A, Criscuolo A, Pouseele H, Maury MM, Leclercq A, Tarr C, Björkman JT, Dallman T, Reimer A, Enouf V, Larsonneur E, Carleton H, Bracq-Dieye H, Katz LS, Jones L, Touchon M, Tourdjman M, Walker M, Stroika S, Cantinelli T, Chenal-Francisque V, Kucerova Z, Rocha EP, Nadon C, Grant K, Nielsen EM, Pot B, Gerner-Smidt P, Lecuit M, Brisse S. Whole genome-based population biology and epidemiological surveillance of Listeria monocytogenes. Nat Microbiol. 2016 Oct 10; 2:16185.
Leclercq, A., C. Charlier, and M. Lecuit. 2014. Global burden of listeriosis: the tip of the iceberg. Lancet Infect Dis. 09/2014; DOI:10.1016/S1473-3099(14)70903-X
Guinet, F., E. Carniel, and A. Leclercq. 2011. Transfusion-Transmitted Yersinia enterocolitica Sepsis. Clin Infect Dis 53:583-91.