The BBC team aims to understand the genetic and physiological mechanisms underlying animal adaptive responses to environmental changes. We are particularly interested in the developmental, metabolic and cognitive variations between organisms, and in the central nervous system-periphery crosstalk.
We study the links between genetic diversity (allelic variations and gene expression) and plasticity (morphological, metabolic, behavioral or cognitive) to elucidate adaptive processes and evolution in response to environmental constraints. Our research has implications for increasing societal threats such as metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases.
Our work is articulated around three main axes:
- Central control of metabolism
- Cognition, neurogenesis and aging
- Development and life history
In this context, the main research thematics developed within the BBC team are:
- Influence of key gene expression on cognition and central control of metabolism: consequences for adaptation to the environment, aging and neurological pathologies.
- Interactions between thyroid hormone levels, metabolic defects, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration: adaptation of transcriptional responses in normal and pathological aging contexts.
- Involvement of thyroid signaling in neural stem cell fate choice: molecular, cellular and behavioral responses under normal and pathological conditions at all ages.
- Interactions between genetic background, oxidative stress, metabolism and environmental conditions in young and adult individuals: consequences for life history and reproductive success.
- Study of the genetic and cellular developmental processes that regulate the formation of an integrated and functional musculoskeletal system: evolution of the morphological innovations implicated in the water-to-land transition of vertebrates.
CNRS, MNHN, ANR, European programs, Sorbonne University, Institut de France
Team Leaders
Marie-Stéphanie CLERGET-FROIDEVAUX, Professor, MNHN
Nicolas NARBOUX-NÊME, Associate Professor, MNHN
Permanent Staff
Anne BACHELOT, Research/Medical Professor, Sorbonne University (20%)
Lucile BUTRUILLE, Associate Professor, MNHN
Barbara DEMENEIX, Emeritous Professor, MNHN
Anastasia FONTAINE, Research Technician, CNRS
Eglantine HEUDE, Researcher, CNRS
Karine LE BLAY, Research Engineer, CNRS
Giovanni LEVI, Emeritus Research Director, CNRS
Sylvie REMAUD, Associate Professor, MNHN
Isabelle SEUGNET, Research Engineer CNRS
Postdocs/Contracts
Anni HERRANEN, Postdoctoral Fellow
Víctor VALCARCEL HERNANDEZ, Postdoctoral Fellow
Benjamin BOUZERAND, Contractual Research Engineer
PhD Students
Rym AOUCI, Ph.D. Student
Lou BELZ, Ph.D. Student
Justine FREDOC-LOUISON, Ph.D. Student
Clélia GUITTONNEAU, Ph.D. Student (50%)
Frida SANCHEZ GARRIDO, Ph.D. Student