Education and Qualifications ______________________________________________________________________________
03.2023 Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (Univ. Paris Cité, France)
08.2008 – 05.2014 Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology (Univ. of Pennsylvania, USA)
- Concentration in Genetics and Gene Regulation
- Advisor: Dr. Shelley L. Berger
- Thesis Defense: 25 April, 2014
- Dissertation: “Chromatin compaction and genome reorganization during spermatogenesis in musculus and sporulation in S. cerevisiae”
- Investigated the role of the linker histone in gene transcription and chromatin compaction during sporulation in cerevisiae
- Established the project addressing chromatin compaction during mammalian spermatogenesis
- Characterized the bromodomain-containing protein BRD4 during spermatogenesis in musculus and identified a potential link between extra-nuclear features and dramatic chromatin changes in the compacting sperm nucleus
08.2004 – 05.2008 B.S. in Cellular Biology, minor in French (Univ. of Georgia, USA)
- GPA: 4.0, graduated with highest honors
- Undergraduate research advisor (2005 – 2008): Dr. Jacek Gaertig
- Honors thesis: “Katanin plays a role in microtubule dynamics and ciliary assembly in thermophila.”
Employment History and Training ______________________________________________________________________________
06.2023 – present Chargée de recherche experte (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France)
- Assistant Professor within the Biology of Host-Parasite Interactions Unit, led by Dr. Artur Scherf
- Investigating genome organization and transcription in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
03.2023 – Present Group Leader (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France): “Plasmodium Chromatin and Transcription”
11.2020 – Present Chargée de recherche (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France)
10.2014 – 10.2020 Postdoctoral Researcher (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France)
- Biology of Host-Parasite Interactions Unit, led by Dr. Artur Scherf (CNRS ERL 9195)
- Project: Transcriptional control of mutually exclusive var gene expression in Plasmodium falciparum
- Investigated the role of putative var gene DNA regulatory elements with marker-free CRISPR/Cas9 technology
- Adapted CRISPR/dCas9 immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry technology to identify protein factors bound to var gene DNA regulatory elements
- Adapted CRISPR interference
06–08.2015 Biology of Parasitism Course (Marine Biological Laboratories, USA)
- Led by Drs. Kirk Deitsch and Gary Ward
- Intensive training in molecular biology of parasite and vector systems
05–08.2014 Postdoctoral Researcher (Univ. of Pennsylvania, USA)
- Laboratory of Dr. Shelley Berger
- Project: Investigate the role of BRD4 in mammalian spermatogenesis
Funding and Grants ______________________________________________________________________________
02.2022-01.2026 Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Jeune Chercheur/Jeune Chercheuse, “PlasmoVarOrg”
- Objective: Investigate the role of cohesin in genome organization and transcription in falciparum
- Principal investigator
02.2022-01.2027 Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Projet de Recherche Collaborative, “ApiMORCing”
- Objective: Investigate the role of MORC in the chromatin organization and transcription in the apicomplexan parasites falciparum and T. gondii
- Co-investigator with Mohamed-Ali HAKIMI
Institutional Responsibilities ______________________________________________________________________________
05.2016 – 05.2019 Departmental Postdoc Representative (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France)
- Responsibilities included social and professional support of postdoctoral researchers and representation of postdoctoral researcher interests to the leadership of the department and to the Institut Pasteur administration.
09.2008 – 04.2014 Biomedical Graduate Student Association (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
- This student association organized social and professional activities to enrich the lives of graduate students and to further their careers in science. I was the vice chair of finance from May 2011 – May 2014.
Teaching Activities ______________________________________________________________________________
07.2018, 07.2019 Middle East Biology of Parasitism (University of Bern, Switzerland)
- Lecture on Next Generation Sequencing for PhD students
11.2017, 11.2018 Sorbonne University (Paris, France)
- Lecture on epigenetics and antigenic variation for MSc2 students in parasitology
09–12.2011 Teaching Assistant (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
- Helped to design and teach a graduate epigenetics course (BIOL483), directed by Dr. Doris Wagner
Organization of Conferences ______________________________________________________________________________
10.2024 ParaFrap Next Generation in Parasitology Symposium/Workshop (Grenoble, France)
05.2024 BioMalPar XX Conference (EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany)
10.2022 Future in Parasitology Symposium (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France)
11.2018 CRISPR in Parasitology Symposium (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France)
- Two-day international symposium, the goal of which was to share information and advice on how to establish/develop CRISPR techniques in various parasite and insect vector systems.
Prizes, Awards, and Fellowships ______________________________________________________________________________
- 09.2015 – 08.2017 EMBO Long-term Postdoctoral Fellowship
- 01.2015 – 12.2016 Institut Pasteur Roux-Cantarini Postdoctoral Fellowship
- 05.2010 – 04.2012 University of Pennsylvania Genetics T32 Training Grant