SynCell-nExUs Supervisors

After earning her PhD from the Institut Curie in 2009, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship (2010–2015) in Jasna Brujić’s group at New York University, where she studied the jamming of dense droplet packings and developed biomimetic emulsions. She joined the CNRS as a Research Scientist in 2015, and the Laboratoire Jean Perrin in 2018. Her research focuses on the development of biomimetic systems to study the mechanics of cells and tissues. She has been Director of the Laboratoire Jean Perrin since January 2024.

”Our research aims to understand how complex biological functions emerge from simple molecular and mechanical interactions by engineering and studying biomimetic systems. Combining synthetic biology, soft matter physics and microengineering, we develop controllable experimental platforms that reproduce key biological processes while providing a framework for the design of adaptive life-like materials. We use several complementary approaches, including cell-free transcription-translation systems, the PEN DNA molecular programming toolbox, DNA nanostructures, active cytoskeletal assemblies based on microtubules and kinesin, and microfluidic technologies for the spatial and temporal control of biochemical reactions. Together, these tools enable the construction of biomimetic systems capable of sensing, processing and responding to chemical or mechanical cues.
A particular focus of our research, involving Elie Wandersman (Professor, Sorbonne University), Jean-Christophe Galas (CNRS) and Lea-Laetitia Pontani (CNRS) at Laboratoire Jean Perrin is the development of artificial cells based on deformable droplets interconnected through lipid bilayers and encapsulating active cytoskeletal systems. By controlling the mechanical and biochemical interactions between these artificial cells, we investigate how collective behaviors emerge and establish design principles for their bottom-up assembly into tissue-like biomimetic materials.”

For more information, visit the Jean Perrin’s lab page.