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- Drs. Enzo Poirier and Gudrun Schleiermacher honored by the French Academy of Sciences
On November 25, 2025, two scientists of Institut Curie were honored by the French Academy of Sciences: Dr. Enzo Poirier, head of the Innate Immunity in Physiology and Cancer team (Inserm U932), and Dr. Gudrun Schleiermacher, pediatric oncologist, deputy director of translational research at the SIREDO center, and research team leader. Institut Curie warmly congratulates them on these distinctions, which recognize their major contributions!
Dr. Enzo Poirier, Inserm researcher and head of the Innate Immunity in Physiology and Cancer team (Inserm U932) at Institut Curie, has been awarded the Joannidès Prize by the Joannidès Foundation of the French Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Enzo Poirier's team works on innate immunity. "The originality of our approach lies in establishing parallels between the immune systems of bacteria and humans. Some immune proteins have been conserved throughout evolution. There is therefore a group of proteins common to humans and bacteria. By exploring this, we are able to discover new ones in humans, with the clinical consequences that may result," he explains.
Building on these discoveries and with the aim of developing new immunotherapies, his team is collaborating with other specialists in translational immunology. A new area of research is also developing around autoimmunity, born out of a collaboration with clinicians at Cochin Hospital.
Dr. Gudrun Schleiermacher, pediatric oncologist at Institut Curie, is deputy director of translational research at the SIREDO center (Care, Innovation, Research in Oncology for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults) and has been awarded the Human Biology and Medical Sciences Medal by the French Academy of Sciences.
She also heads the Translational Research in Pediatric Oncology: From Oncogenesis to New Treatments (RTOP) team (Inserm U1330) / Translational Research Department) at the Institut Curie Research Center. Her research team studies the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of pediatric cancers and the processes of treatment resistance. This research aims to develop new therapeutic strategies for certain high-risk pediatric cancers, in particular neuroblastoma, a rare solid tumor that affects approximately 130 to 150 children each year in France.
“To better treat these young patients, we need to understand the mechanisms of resistance and adjust treatments in real time. Analyzing circulating tumor DNA gives us a window into the progression of the disease, even before clinical signs are visible,” explains Dr. Gudrun Schleiermacher.
