I am a permanent researcher focusing on the understanding of the structure-function relationships of the human nicotinic receptors, and their role psychiatric and neurological diseases. I was trained during my PhD at the Institut Pasteur in electrophysiology and protein biochemistry, on a bacterial homologue of nicotinic receptors. My work allowed the identification of a new conformation of those receptors, using mutagenesis and electrophysiology coupled to structural biology. I then did a post-doctoral training in London, where I acquired an expertise in structural biology techniques to study the secretion system of the pathogenic bacteria Legionella pneumophila.
I joined the Channel-receptors team to work on human nicotinic receptors, focusing on the α5 and α7 containing subtypes. α5-receptors are involved in nicotine addiction and lung cancer while the α7 subtypes play fundamental roles in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s disease. I combine biochemistry, X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, biophysics and functional assays to elucidate their mechanisms of action in the human brain.
