On a proposal from Professor Stewart Cole, President of the Institut Pasteur, Professor Christophe d'Enfert has been appointed as the Institut Pasteur's Scientific Director. This decision was approved by the Board of Directors on October 18, 2019. Professor Christophe d'Enfert took office on January 2, 2020, taking over from Professor Olivier Schwartz.
Christophe d'Enfert will report directly to the President. His main role will be to support the President in the day-to-day running of the Institut Pasteur's scientific activities and the development of its scientific policy. As a member of the Senior Management Board, Christophe d'Enfert will particularly be responsible for the implementation of the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan and the priority scientific areas laid down in the plan: emerging infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, neurodegenerative diseases and brain connectivity, cancer, and vaccinology. In close cooperation with the recently appointed Medical Research Director, Professor Bruno Hoen, Christophe d'Enfert will work to strengthen the impact of the Institut Pasteur's discoveries on human health. He will also have the task of consolidating the Institut Pasteur's scientific and technological expertise to encourage the development of cutting-edge research.
Professor Stewart Cole, President of the Institut Pasteur, emphasized Christophe d'Enfert's ongoing commitment to the Institut Pasteur: "Christophe d'Enfert has already played a key part in helping us realize our scientific ambitions. In his new role he will focus on implementing measures to boost basic research with the aim of increasing its impact on current health challenges. Our shared goal is to give scientists the resources they need to conduct ambitious scientific projects."
"I am proud to be given the opportunity to pursue the work begun by my predecessor, Professor Olivier Schwartz, in implementing an ambitious strategic plan that will enable our teams to make major advances in basic research while also developing new solutions to address health challenges," commented Professor Christophe d'Enfert.
Biography of Christophe d'Enfert
Christophe d'Enfert trained as an agronomist, completing a PhD at the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon and a post-graduate diploma (DEA) in Microbiology at Paris Diderot University (Paris 7), where he also obtained his accreditation to supervise research. He is a Professor at the Institut Pasteur and has led the Fungal Biology and Pathogenicity Unit since 2002. He specializes in yeasts that are pathogenic in humans and has authored more than 140 publications. His team studies the genomic diversity of these yeasts and the molecular basis of their virulence. Professor Christophe d'Enfert was behind the creation of the Department of Mycology at the Institut Pasteur in 2014. Prior to his appointment as Scientific Director of the Institut Pasteur, Professor Christophe d'Enfert served as Vice-President Technology and Scientific Programs and was responsible for all the Institut Pasteur's technological platforms and incentive programs (2018-2019). He also held the role of Deputy CSO and then Acting CSO of the BIOASTER technology research institute (2011-2014) and was an Associate Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique (2004-2016). His research has been recognized by the French National Academy of Medicine. Professor Christophe d'Enfert is a Knight of the National Order of Academic Palms.
