24de Heremans Lecture, door Diane Mathis op 24 februari

Professor Diane Mathis is a pioneering figure in the understanding of immunological tolerance and auto-immune diseases, renowned for her groundbreaking work. She obtained a PhD from the University of Rochester and performed postdoctoral studies at Stanford University Medical Center and the Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire des Eucaryotes in Strasbourg, where she later established a laboratory with Prof. Christophe Benoist. The lab moved to the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston in 1999. Through 2008, Prof. Mathis was a Professor of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School (HMS), and Head of Immunology and Immunogenetics at Joslin. She currently holds the chair in Immunohematology at HMS. She is also a Principal Faculty Member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and an Associate Faculty Member of the Broad Institute.

Mathis's work has yielded groundbreaking insights into the transcription factor Aire, by dissecting its control of gene expression in medullary thymic epithelial cells and how it drives tolerance at the cellular level. Her research also delved into the multifaceted role of regulatory T cells. More particularly, she pioneered the exploration of Treg control of non-immunological processes, such as tissue repair and regeneration, or metabolism.

Her contributions have garnered international recognition, with prestigious awards including the Excellence in Science Award from the Federation of American Societies in Experimental Biology, the inaugural Menarini Prize for outstanding Woman Immunologist from the International Union of Immunological Societies and the William B Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic Immunology from the Cancer Research Institute. She is a member of several prominent academies, such as the US National Academy of Sciences, the German Academy, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has trained over 175 students and postdoctoral fellows from all over the world.

She recently accepted to join the Scientific Council of the de Duve Institute.

before February 14th