Ludivine Doridot – Project entitled “Menstrual fluid multi-omics analysis to better diagnose, understand and treat endometriosis”

Lecturer in physiology at the department of medicine at the UniversitéParis Cité, and researcher at Institut Cochin, Ludivine Doridot studies the biology of uterus and placenta, more particularly endometriosis and the involvement of the immune system in this condition.

With the project entitled "Menstrual fluid multi-omics analysis to better diagnose, understand and treat endometriosis", selected for an ERC Starting Grant 2022, Ludivine Doridot proposes to use menstrual blood in a cohort of 200 patients with endometriosis and 50 control women to:

• Look for elements that will make it possible to make a rapid diagnosis (diagnostic markers) by identifying differences not only in cell composition but also among the molecules produced by the different cells of the menstrual fluid of women with endometriosis versus those without endometriosis,
• Create, from menstrual fluid, endometrial organoids to test new therapeutic approaches,
• Look for prognostic and/or predictive markers to better monitor women with endometriosis.

Diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers are essential to assess the establishment and progression of the disease and to choose the most appropriate treatment. This project will significantly improve the understanding of the pathophysiology of endometriosis and will allow the study of a new biological fluid, relevant for gynecological and reproductive disorders.

Antoine Zalc – Project REGENECREST entitled “Enhancing endogenous regenerative response in mammals by redeploying Cranial Neural Crest Cells pluripotency developmental programs and positional identity remodeling”

Antoine Zalc, team leader at Institut Cochin, has been awarded for an ERC Starting Grant in 2021. In this research project, using single-cell transcriptomics and genomics assays Antoine Zalc and his team seek to uncover and characterize molecular mechanisms regulating the reemergence of pluripotency programs and the underlying reprogramming of cranial neural crest cells (CNCC) – a stem cell-like population arising in the vertebrate embryo presenting a remarquable differentiation potential and giving rise to the majority of the craniofacial bones and peripheral nervous system. CNCC represent a unique model to study the molecular mechanisms governing cell-intrinsic behavior but also the role of the niche, which may influence the sequence of events by cell-cell interactions during craniofacial ontogeny. The interdisciplinary scope of experimental strategies included in this project will help understand how these fundamental processes are regulated and might result in novel strategies to stimulate endogenous craniofacial tissue repair.