Carine Le Goff is a senior scientist at INSERM in France in the laboratory for vascular translational science where she leads a group focusing on molecular bases and physiopathology of HTAA (hereditary thoracic aortic aneurysms) at the UMR 1148 INSERM in Paris. The first objective of her research group is to identify new genes involved in HTAA and second one is to understand the pathogenic mechanism underlying the HTAA. My main project is centered on the understanding of the role of ECM proteins and more precisely ADAMTS, fibrillin-1  in HTAA using cellular and mouse models.
Carine obtained her PhD in 2001 at the Orsay university. Her three-year post-doctoral fellowship on ADAMTS proteins in the laboratory of Dr Suneel Apte (Cleveland clinic foundation, Lerner research insititute, USA), led her to develop her interest in ECM and on rare disorders.  She continued to study the ADAMTS in rare  skeletal disorders during a second post-doctoral fellowship at Necker Hospital. She was recruited in 2009  in Cormier-Daire’s lab (Paris) to work on acromelic dysplasia/ADAMTS/FBN1. Then this lab moved in Imagine institute, UMR1163 in 2014. Recently, in 2017, Carine joined the Boileau/Jondeau’s lab at Bichat hospital. Carine has published more than 40 articles in renowned international journals.

Patricia ALBANESE is Professor of Cell Biology (CNU 65th section) at the University Paris Est Creteil (UPEC), in the Gly-CRRET laboratory. She is a Stem Cell biologist in the “Glycoworld” from the Matrix, developing research field on stem cells application in Tissular Engineering. Her research topic is based on specific skills to purify Glycosaminoglycans (GAG) chains from proteoglycans and to characterize their structural and functional modifications (https://www.vjf.cnrs.fr/spip/crret/-Analyse-de-GAGs-GLYCO-mix-).
She has demonstrated the impact of GAG structural modifications, such as sulfations of Heparan Sulfates (HS), on different stem cells (hematopoietic, endothelial and mesenchymal) properties such as mobilization, proliferation and differentiation . She is interested on degenerative pathologies associated to aging, strong extracellular matrix remodeling and inflammatory responses. Since few years, she focuses on HS involvement in cartilage matrix remodelig and synovial fluid inflammatory reactions during Osteoarthritis (OA), in association with Rheumatologists clinicians from the Henri Mondor Hospital (AP-HP Creteil). These studies allow to identify GAG with specific signatures, as well as GAG biosynthesis or degradation enzymes, that are involved in physiopathological responses. Her main goal is to propose new therapeutic strategies associating stem cells to matricial glycanic products, based on GAG mimetics or GAG enzyme antagonists.
since 2016, she is the head of the Biology Department of the UPEC Sciences and Technological Faculty. She is leading “BIOMICS” Master Formation, based on Omics technologies applied to Integrative Biology on Health and Environment, labelized by the “Pole de competitivité Medicen de la Region Ile de France”.

Ulrich Valcourt is a full Professor in Cell Biology at the University Claude Bernard Lyon 1. Since January 2021, he leads the team “Matricellular Proteins and Pathological Dysregulations” in the Laboratory of Tissue Biology and Therapeutic Engineering (LBTI) in Lyon, a research unit having a strong expertise on extracellular matrix biology and tissue repair. Using multi-scale approaches, combining cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry and biophysical methods, as well as genetically engineered mouse models, his lab is currently interested in unraveling the function of matricellular proteins in tissue homeostasis and pathological contexts. Studies primarily focus on the role of Tenascin-X in cutaneous and vascular tissue homeostasis, but also in several diseases such as in cancers and rare connective tissue disorders (classical-like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome). Ulrich is the current treasurer of the French Society of Extracellular Matrix Biology.
He has a scientific background in molecular and cellular biology, with two main scientific interests during his career: TGF-β superfamily signaling and Matrix Biology. Through his PhD training in Lyon (Dr. Mallein-Gerin, IBCP) and a first post-doctoral position in Sweden (Dr. Moustakas, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research), he deciphered the signaling pathways and transcriptomic programs by which Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) and TGF-β signaling factors orchestrate developmental (chondrogenic/osteogenic differentiation) and pathological (epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer) cell responses. After a second post-doctoral experience studying the effects of collagen aging on bone fragility (Pr. Delmas, U403 INSERM, Lyon), he obtained an Associate Professor position at the University of Lyon and joined the team of Dr. Lethias (IBCP, Lyon) to explore the cellular functions of Tenascin-X. He then moved to the group of Dr. Bartholin in the Cancer Research Center of Lyon (CRCL), where he notably analyzed the extracellular regulation of the TGF-β bioavailability and signaling by matricellular proteins. He finally moved to his current research unit in 2018 as a full Professor. Ulrich Valcourt has published more than 30 articles and reviews with a primary focus on TGF-β and Matrix Biology fields.

Laurent Debelle received his PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of Reims Champagne Ardenne (URCA) in 1995. After several years of post-doc in the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at the University of Potenza (Italy), he was recruited in 1998 as Associate Professor of Biochemistry in URCA and was appointed full professor in 2009. He was Honorary Senior Researcher in the Division of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester (United Kingdom) during the period 2019-2022. He has supervised 11 PhDs and co-authored 51 original research papers, 2 book chapters and 17 conference articles (ORCID). He is member of the French Society for Matrix Biology (since 1998), of the International Society for Matrix Biology (since 2013) and of the French Biophysics Society (since 2014).

His early work focused on elastin structure-function relationships and their significance in pathophysiological states, notably during aging. He notably explored the influence exerted by elastin peptides on cancer and stromal cells during cancer progression. Lately his research centered on arterial elastin aging and its relevance to the onset and progression of arterial pathologies. The approaches he uses are at the interface of biochemistry, biophysics and numerical simulations and explore both molecular and tissular aspects of matrix organization. He currently combines theoretical and experimental methods to understand and model the behavior of elastin peptides at the membrane-matrix interface. Additionally, he uses synchrotron micro-computed X-ray tomography to image large uncut segments of murine aorta at a submicrometric resolution to reveal arterial damages occurring during normal and pathological aging (ANR project MODELAGE).

Laure Gibot (ORCID, HAL) graduated as engineer in 2007 from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Agronomie (ENSA) in Rennes (France), and obtained her PhD in 2010 in molecular and cell biology at Laval University (Quebec, Canada). During her PhD she specialized in human skin tissue engineering in the Laboratoire d’organogenèse expérimentale (LOEX). Back to France she developed 3D tissue models, particularly tumour spheroids, as tools to study drug delivery by electroporation at tissue scale. In 2006 she was recruited as associate researcher at CNRS in Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology (IPBS) Lab in Toulouse. In 2018, she moved to the IMRCP lab, a chemistry laboratory dedicated to soft matter study, where she develops biological applications (mainly photodynamic therapy PDT and tissue regeneration) of chemical drug delivery using polymer nanovectors. Her current research focuses on understanding how physical/chemical stimuli used for drug delivery can modulate cellular behaviour and tissue organization, with the aim of proposing original therapeutic strategies, particularly in the context of the fight against cancer and regenerative medicine. Her research activity led to 35 peer-reviewed publications (h index 14). She was awarded local, national and international young researcher prizes and obtained several grants including a JCJC ANR dedicated to deciphering cellular mechanisms in electrostimulation of wound healing.

In 2007, Sabrina Kellouche-Gaillard obtained her PhD in Cutaneous Biology and Pharmacology from the University of Paris 7, INSERM 553 unit « Hemostasis, endothelium, angiogenesis » of Chantal Legrand. She did a first post-doctoral fellowship at Cergy-Pontoise University, in ERRMECe Lab, then a second post-doc as a University Hospital Assistant in Cellular Biology at the Faculty of Medicine of Amiens. Sabrina Kellouche was recruited at the University of Cergy Pontoise in march 2010 as associate professor in cell biology, attached to ERRMECe Lab (Extracellular Matrix-Cell Relations Research Team). She is now member of the group MEC-uP (Extracellular Matrix and Physiopathology) of the ERRMECe lab.
Her research fields focus on the cell relation with complex microenvironments using Cellular & molecular approaches. Understanding the cell-ECM interactions likely to be involved in physiological (tissue repair) or pathological (tumor dissemination, fibrosis) processes is at the heart of her research concerns. Indeed, she was able to study the mechanisms involved during these processes and their regulation by the matrix microenvironment (extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors, etc.) which influence interactions between cells, their behavior (proliferation, migration…) and their fate (differentiation, apoptosis…). Over the past few years, she has been able to acquire solid experience, particularly in the development and reconstitution of microenvironment models which involve molecules of the extracellular- matrix: 3D cell cultures (fibrin matrix, collagen-GAG-Chitosan matrix), co -cultures of different cell types, development of culture in suspension (tumor spheroids), development of in vitro forensic models of biological traces in criminalistic concerns…The characterization of the matrix microenvironment and its regulating impact on cellular activities stay at the center of her research. Sabrina Kellouche-Gaillard has published 20 articles, she supervised 3 PhD and is also the co-director of the Master’s degree called BioC2M “Cellular and Molecular Biology of the Microenvironment”.

Pascal MAURICE is senior scientist at CNRS and joined the MEDyC Research Unit (UMR CNRS/URCA 7369) at Reims in 2011 in the « Matrix Aging and Vascular Remodeling » team led by Pr Laurent Duca & Dr Stephane Jaisson. He works on the role played by the elastin-derived peptides and the elastin receptor complex (ERC) in vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Using cell and molecular biology technologies together with structural biophysics and computational approaches, he is mostly interested in the membrane topology and membrane interactome of the neuraminidase-1, the catalytic subunit of the ERC, and in its biological functions. He obtained a PhD in the field of vascular biology and haemostasis in 2005 from Paris VII-Denis Diderot University (Paris, France). During his PhD, he studied the role of an octapeptide sequence from type III collagen and its membrane receptor in platelet adhesion and signaling, and in animal models of thrombosis. He then performed a five-years post-doctoral training at Cochin Institute (Paris, France) in the lab of Dr Ralf Jockers where he developed proteomics approaches dedicated the purification and identification of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR)-associated proteins complexes, and discovered the existence of an asymmetrical coupling between GPCR dimers and Regulator of G protein Signaling (RGS) proteins. He also performed a 1-year post-doctoral training at the Montreal Heart Institute (Montreal, Canada) in the lab of Pr Pierre Théroux in the field of coronary artery diseases and plasma biomarkers. To date, Pascal Maurice has published more than 50 original papers, reviews and book chapters in internationally renowned journals.

Laurent Muller got his PhD in Biochemistry and Cell Biology in 1996 at Université Paris-Orsay (France) and received further training at the Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans (LA, USA) from 1996 to 1999.  He was appointed as an INSERM researcher in the Chair of Experimental Medicine at the Collège de France in Paris in 2001. He is a board member of the French Society for Angiogenesis (SFA). He has supervised 6 PhDs and co-authored 42 original research papers and 4 reviews in international scientific journals (ORCID).
His early work aimed at analyzing the processing of hormones and neuroendocrine peptides by the prohormone converting enzymes in the pituitary and by endothelin converting enzyme in the cardiovascular system. Over the last 15 years, he has shifted his research to the investigation of extracellular matrix remodeling associated with angiogenesis and microvascular integrity. His interests in this field more specifically target the establishment of the vascular basement membrane during vessel formation and the role of the cross-linking enzyme lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2) in this context. For these studies, he has acquired experience in in vitro angiogenesis models and their imaging in 3D models of either hydrogels or scaffold-free cell-sheet culture.
These cell biology projects have also led to applications in a tissue engineering context. First, the development of 3D models of capillary formation led him to apply his research to characterization of the angiogenic potential of circulating progenitors or iPS-derived endothelial cells, as well as that of mesenchymal stem cells; further applications include focus on the generation of in vitro pre-vascularized tissue constructs and development of reconstructed vascularized skin. Then, he is investigating biomimetic approaches based on cross-linking enzymes for the improvement of the angiogenic properties of hydrogels of natural polymers, including tropoelastin and collagen.

Emeline Perrier-Groult is senior scientist at CNRS in France and recently joined the “Adult mesenchymal stem cell : tissue homeostasis and regeneration” team at the INSERM UMR1183 (IRMB Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Biotherapy) in Montpellier. The aim of IRMB is to facilitate the transfer of research on stem cell biology to clinical applications in coordination with clinical specialists in chronic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, lung disease, liver disease, neurodegenerative disease, ageing, rare genetic diseases, autoinflammatory disorders,  diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders). More precisely, Emeline works in the “Tissue Engineering & Extracellular Vesicles applied to Rheumatic Diseases” group leads by Dr. Danièle Noël. This group aim at better understanding osteo-articular diseases using relevant in vitro models based on organoid formation and 3D bioprinting approaches. This should allow to develop innovative therapeutic strategies for cartilage repair to restore joint function. Organoids and joint-on-chip technologies should feature a complex joint environment to get the proper structural organization required for both cartilage and sub-chondral bone formation. The optimized combinations of biomaterials, cells, bioactive factors are tested in vitro and in vivo to evaluate the potential of cartilage and bone formation by mesenchymal stromal cells for tissue engineering applications. New-generation biomaterials are generated in collaboration with chemists and close interactions with biomecanicians for biomechanical stimulation and characterization of neotissues. Joint-on-chips and organoids will be used to develop models mimicking the inflammatory or degenerative context of rheumatic diseases and evaluate cellular or pharmalogical treatments.
Emeline obtained her PhD in 2004 at Montpellier (INSERM U637, Pr. Sylvain Richard) and Geneva (Laboratory of endocrinology and diabetology at the Cantonal University Hospital of Geneva, Pr. Michel Rossier). After a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in the cardiovascular division of the Research Institute Servier (Suresnes, France), she joined the CNRS group of Dr. Frédéric Mallein-Gerin (Biologie et Ingénierie du Cartilage, IBCP) in Lyon where she was recruited in 2009 to work on the influence of three-dimensional architecture and various biomaterials on the phenotype of chondrocytes. Then, in 2021, she moved to INSERM UMR1183 to develop articular organoids from MSCs or MSCs derived from iPSCs (induced pluripotent stem cells) and to evaluate the impact of different physical and/or biological stimuli on the development of osteoarticular pathologies. Emeline has published more than 30 papers in renowned international journals.

Sandrine Vadon – Le Goff is a senior scientist at CNRS, in the Laboratory of Tissue Biology and Therapeutic Engineering (LBTI) in Lyon, a research unit having a strong expertise in extracellular matrix biology and tissue repair. She works in the « Metalloproteases and Tissue remodelling group » led by Dr. Catherine Moali, where she studies the functions and mechanism of action of a family of extracellular metalloproteases, the BTPs, playing key roles in extracellular matrix assembly or growth factor activation.

Sandrine is a chemical engineer (ESPCI-ParisTech), and she obtained her PhD in 1995, in the LCBPT (Paris 5) under the direction of Dr. D. Mansuy. During her thesis at the chemistry-biochemistry interface, she developed inhibitors of NO synthases, the metalloenzymes responsible for nitric oxide biosynthesis. After a post-doc in the industry (Rhodia), and a few years of parental leave following her husband in South America, she joined in 2007 the group of Dr. David Hulmes (now led by C. Moali) in Lyon to study the BMP-1/tolloid like metalloproteinases (BTPs). With a highly integrative approach, combining biochemistry, structural biology and cell biology, their goal is to better understand the functions of the BTPs and of their main partners in the context of tissue repair, in order to propose novel therapeutic strategies to be applied to human diseases such as fibrosis, chronic wounds or corneal scarring. Her current research focuses on BTP regulators. Using biochemical tools (nanobodies, mutants, chimeric proteins), she is trying to understand how these regulators act and what role they play in tissue repair. On a more applied level, she is currently developing molecules to modulate collagen deposition in fibrosis. She is also the coordinator of IBCP&Cié, the LBTI / IBCP « environment group », which she created in 2019, and the « sustainable development » referent of the LBTI.

I obtained my Master’s degree in 2022 from the University of Strasbourg, where I studied health sciences and bioengineering. I then joined the INSERM UMR_S1255 ‘Biology and Pharmacology of Blood Platelets’ at the Etablissement Français du Sang (EFS) in Strasbourg, where I am currently doing my PhD under the supervision of Dr Anita ECKLY and Pr Maxime LEHMANN. This laboratory focuses all its research on the biology of platelets and their precursors, the megakaryocytes. I joined the electron microscopy team working on the intravasation of megakaryocytes and their interactions with sinusoids and the extracellular matrix of the bone marrow.
My research project focuses on the mechanisms used by megakaryocytes to cross the endothelium and ensure efficient thrombopoiesis. In 2020, the team demonstrated that megakaryocytes form podosomes that enable them to force their way through the endothelial barrier. We study these podosomes when the bone marrow environment is altered by chemotherapy, which, through its effect on replicating cells, leads to a reduction in platelet counts. To do this, I use high-resolution imaging techniques on bone marrow, in situ.

During my Master’s degree at ENS Lyon, I did 3 internships in the teams of Prof. Ulrich Valcourt (LBTI – Lyon), Dr. Julie Guillermet-Guibert (CRCT – Toulouse) and Associate Prof. Thomas Cox (Garvan Institute – Sydney, Australia). During these internships, I specialized in the study of pancreatic cancer stroma and deepened my knowledge of the impact of compressive forces on tumors. In November 2023, I started a PhD under the supervision of Dr. Elise Lambert in the « Matricellular Proteins and Pathological Dysregulations » team led by Prof. Ulrich Valcourt. The team is part of the Laboratoire de Biologie Tissulaire et d’Ingénierie Thérapeutique (LBTI) in Lyon, and focuses on the role of Tenascin-X (i.e. an extracellular matrix glycoprotein) in tissue homeostasis. Tenascin-X production is down-regulated in the six most common cancers worldwide, as well as in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the 7th leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Tenascin-X even appears to deposit around precursor lesions before disappearing in PDAC. My thesis project aims to identify the factors modulating Tenascin-X production, to assess whether Tenascin-X plays an anti-tumoral role in PDAC and to decipher how TNX plays its biological role. In parallel with my thesis, I teach at Claude Bernard University (Lyon) and I am the doctoral students’ representative on the LBTI unit board.

I am a PhD student at the Institute Mondor of Biomedical Research. (IMRB) in Créteil under the direction of Dr. Philippos Mourikis. Our group studies the mechanisms of muscle stem cell regulation with a special focus on the quiescence niche and Notch signalling. The research we have conducted supports the idea that muscle stem cells (MuSCs) play a pivotal role in shaping their surrounding environment, with Notch signaling being a significant regulator in the formation of a dynamic extracellular matrix. Recognizing the crucial interplay between stem cells and their niche, we have devised specialized procedures to isolate truly quiescent cells and have identified a novel phase of early activation.
I am presently engaged in investigating the involvement of the Notch signaling pathway in fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) and its impact on the synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins within skeletal muscle. My objective is to elucidate the role of Notch signaling in FAPs across various physiological states, including homeostasis, regeneration, and under pathological circumstances, specifically focusing on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Alongside my PhD, I am actively involved in the educational initiatives of the university, where I deliver instruction on the Molecular and Cellular Foundations of Pathology to second-year medical students.

Florence Ruggiero is Director of Research at the CNRS. She leads a a team “Matrix Biology and Pathology Institute of Functional Genomics of Lyon. Since January 2016, she also serves as the Director of the IGFL. Her training background combines cell biology, molecular biology, microscopies, biochemistry and development. Her primary research interest, as a young investigator at the CNRS, was the analysis of cell-collagen interactions. For that, she developed new methods to produce recombinant full-length collagens and derived-domains in different expression systems including plants. Since then, the super family of collagens became “her family” and she has now 30 years of experience in matrix biology research. In 2003, she started to run her independent group at the Institute of Protein Chemistry and Protein (IBCP, Lyon). Since then, the analysis of collagen function in model organisms was at the core of her research. Because collagens form intricate network in tissues, predicting their function is difficult. Her main objective was to understand the diversity of collagen functions from molecules to integrative systems using cell and animal models. In parallel, from 2006 to 2010, she successively held the position of vice-director and then director of the SFR-Bioscience-Gerland (UMS3444/US8). In 2011, her team moved to the Institute of Functional Genomics of Lyon (IGFL, ENSL), a new institute of the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, interested in evolution, development and integrative physiology using functional genomics. During the last years, her group have explored the amazing functional diversity of collagen genes during development and analyzed possible links between defective collagen function and human diseases, using combined approaches including functional genomics, biochemistry, cell biology and integrative biology. Her lab is currently interested in unraveling the function of collagens in development, tissue regeneration and rare connective tissue disease as the classic Elhers-Danlos syndrome and neuromuscular disorders associated to collagen deficiency. Florence Ruggiero has published more than 90 publications and reviews in the Matrix Biology field. Recently, she was honored to serve as Chair for the 2017 Collagen Gordon Research Conference.

Patricia Rousselle is research director at CNRS in France where she leads a lab in the Tissue Biology and Therapeutic Engineering Department of the Institute of Protein Biology and Chemistry in Lyon. This department is one of the major centres in France specialising in the extracellular matrix and tissue repair field of research. Developing both biochemical and cell biology approaches, her group is interested in analysing the behaviour of keratinocytes during the reepithelialisation phase of wound repair and their interaction with extracellular matrix components. Besides, she develops translational research through collaborations with clinicians of the Lyon Burn Centre and industrial partners. Patricia is the present president of the French Matrix Society and is also a board member of the European Tissue Repair Society. Patricia obtained a doctorate in Pharmacy in 1988 and pursued a four-year residency in clinical biology at Lyon Hospitals, where she also gained an MSc in Molecular and Cellular Biology in 1990. Being interested in adhesion mechanisms of the epidermis, she started a PhD program with Prof Bob Burgeson at the Shriners Hospital For Crippled Children in Portland, USA, where she discovered the important dermal epidermal junction protein laminin 332. She thereafter joined the Cutaneous Biology Research Center in Boston, USA, to work on basement membrane biology, before she joined CNRS to set up her own group in 1995. Patricia Rousselle has published more than 90 articles on extracellular matrix proteins with a focus on laminins and proteoglycans, in internationally renowned journals. Dr. Rousselle’s special research interests include the role of basement membrane components and cell receptors, such as syndecans, in epithelial homeostasis and repair.