Team Members

Geneviève Almouzni, PhD

Geneviève Almouzni Research Director at the CNRS Team Almouzni Team Leader Tel: Back to the list

Profile

Geneviève ALMOUZNI, PhD was the Director of the Research Center of the Institut Curie –Paris, a major Cancer research center, between 2013 and 2018. She has been the head of the research Unit “Nuclear dynamics" (UMR3664 CNRS/Institut Curie) since 1999 developing work on genome organization and function.

Her scientific  contribution has been central to define key mechanisms in chromatin assembly from the basic unit, the nucleosome, up to higher order structure in the nucleus. She has exploited various approaches from the development of in vitro systems, to the use of single molecules and analysis of nuclear architecture giving rise to series of publications (over 200 peer-reviewed papers). Her work has also addressed implication of these findings for cancer biology.

Her work has received continuous funding support, including  ERC grants. Member of several international scientific advisory boards (EMBO Journal, Genes & Development, Cell, etc.) and recipient of several international grants (Human Science Frontier, several European grants (including ERC Advanced Grant), she received prestigious awards, most recently, Woman in Sciences FEBS /EMBO (2013), member of the Académie des Sciences (2013), and AAAS Fellow (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2014). She was appointed as Vice-chair at the EMBO Council in 2014 and elected Co-Chair of EU-LIFE alliance.

She has also invested in the development of the field of Epigenetics over the years through her active participation in several EU networks, including her most recent role as coordinator of EpiGeneSys, a Network of Excellence which aim is to move epigenetics towards quantitative approaches and exploit systems biology strategies.

Current and previous positions

2013 - 2018 - Director of the Research Center at the Institut Curie, Paris, France
2009 - 2013 Deputy Director of the Research Center Educational Programme at the Institut Curie
2000 - 2015 Head of the Nuclear Dynamics dept, UMR3664, & Group leader of the Chromatin Dynamics team, Institut Curie, Paris, France.
1999 - 2000 Head of the Genotoxicology and Modulation of the Gene Expression dept, UMR218 and Group leader of the chromatin dynamics team
1994 - 1998 CNRS ATIPE/ Junior Group leader, Chromatin Dynamics team in UMR 144-Institut Curie, Paris, France.
1991 - 1993 Postdoctoral Associate, (EMBO and Fogarty funding) Dr. A. Wolffe, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, USA.
1989 - 1993 Research scientist (CR2- CNRS), Dr. M. Méchali, Institut J. Monod, Paris, France.
1988 - 1989 Post-doctoral Fellow (short term EMBO) Dr. A. Wolffe, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, USA.
1985 -1988 PhD thesis Dr. M. Méchali, Institut J. Monod, Paris, France.

Distinction and Awards

2016-2018 Elected Co-Chair of EU-LIFE
2015 European Academy of Cancer Sciences – 2015 Fellow
2014 Elected Vice-Chair of the EMBO Council
2014 Grand prix de Fondation de la Recherche Médicale (FRM), France
2013 FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award
2013 Elected Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science
2013 Elected Fellow of French Academy of Sciences
2011 Elected Member of the EMBO Council
2011 Grand Prix Louis D. Fondation on Epigenetics, Institut de France
2011 Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur
2008 Elected on the Board of the International Society of Differentiation
2007 Elected Member of Academia Europaea
2007 Chevalier de l'Ordre du Mérite
2006 Grand Prix Cino et Simone del Duca Fondation, by the Institut de France
2005 Elected Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of the EMBL Laboratory
2003 Member of the "Faculty of 1000 Biology"
2003 Prize from La Ligue contre le Cancer, Comité des Yvelines, France
2000 Elected EMBO Member
2000 CNRS Silver Medal (“médaille d’argent du CNRS”), Paris, France
1996 CNRS ATIPE (funding) & Junior group leader position at the Institut Curie, Paris, France
1991 EMBO Long term fellowship
1989 EMBO Short term fellowship

Major Scientific responsibilities

Since 2013 Director of the Research Center at the Institut Curie, Paris, France
2012-2020 Coordinator of the Laboratory of Excellence (LABEX) ‘DEEP’ together with UMR3215-U934 (E. Heard)
Since 2010 Scientific Coordinator of the European Network of Excellence EpiGeneSys
Since 2000 Head of the Nuclear Dynamics dept, UMR3664, Institut Curie, Paris, France.
Since 1994 Group leader of the Chromatin Dynamics team, Institut Curie, Paris, France.