Institutional Context

Within the host laboratory directed by Olivier Neyrolles, my research activities have developed along a clearly identifiable, complementary scientific line centered on the role of tissue microenvironments in shaping macrophage behavior in TB and its associated comorbidities. While the team has historically focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of mycobacterial pathogenesis, my contribution has been to broaden this framework toward a microenvironment- and host-directed perspective, with particular emphasis on how local metabolic, stromal, and immunological cues reprogram macrophages and influence disease outcome. 

This positioning is illustrated by several lines of research conducted over the 2020–2025 period. First, through the MAC-TB/HIV program, I led an original line of investigation on how TB-associated soluble factors, particularly lipid mediators and interferon-related signals, alter macrophage metabolism and activation to promote both defective anti-mycobacterial functions and enhanced susceptibility to HIV-1. This work established a strong interface among TB, macrophage immunometabolism, and viral co-infection, a topic distinct from, yet fully synergistic with, the laboratory’s broader expertise in host–mycobacteria interactions. Second, through the MMI-TB program, I developed an independent line on the contribution of the pulmonary microbiota to immune regulation in TB, demonstrating that lung commensals can modulate inflammatory responses without impairing bacterial control. This introduced the concept that the outcome of TB is not solely determined by host cells and the pathogen, but also by the surrounding microbial ecosystem. Third, I have contributed to the Organoids4TB program by helping establish human lung 3D systems and multi-compartment models to study host–pathogen interactions and evaluate anti-TB drugs, host-directed therapies, and vaccines in human-relevant settings. Finally, my most recent work on the prospective characterization of a neuro-associated stromal niche in TB granulomas has opened a new research direction within the laboratory by identifying a previously unrecognized TUBB3+ stromal component associated with granulomatous inflammation, thereby extending the study of TB pathophysiology beyond immune cells alone toward the organization of infected tissue niches. 

Taken together, these projects define a coherent and distinctive scientific identity within the host laboratory. My positioning is therefore not based on competition with ongoing programs led by Olivier Neyrolles, but rather on scientific complementarity and intellectual expansion. I contribute expertise in macrophage biology, immunometabolism, tissue niche biology, co-infection, and translational human models, while remaining anchored in the common objective of understanding TB pathogenesis. This complementary positioning has allowed me to establish an autonomous research trajectory, attract dedicated funding as a principal or co-principal investigator, serve as a Work Package Manager, supervise junior scientists, and develop national and international collaborations that reinforce the laboratory’s visibility and thematic breadth.

Beyond my individual research program, I contribute to the institute's collective functioning through responsibilities for research infrastructure management and shared scientific organization. A major component of this involvement is my participation in the management and scientific oversight of the IPBS BSL-3 multi-pathogen facility, a strategic institutional resource that supports high-containment experimental work on infectious agents. In this context, I contribute to coordinating the facility’s scientific use and user interactions and to maintaining a high standard of organization and biosafety for projects requiring containment infrastructure. This role is part of the broader institutional framework of the “Plateformes Technologiques et Plateaux Techniques” at IPBS. 

More generally, these collective responsibilities reflect my commitment to the shared scientific environment at IPBS by helping to maintain the operational conditions required for collaborative, technically demanding, and high-level research in host–pathogen interactions.