Internationally renowned neurologist and epidemiologist, Professor Stéphanie Debette is a specialist in the genetic and environmental factors of stroke, imaging markers of brain senescence and cognitive decline. His research focuses in particular on the molecular mechanisms underlying brain aging, and improving the prevention and treatment of dementia and stroke.
A rich background in neuroscience and health
After a doctorate in medicine obtained in 2006, an internship in neurology at the CHRU of Lille and additional training in vascular neurology, Professor Stéphanie Debette trained in genetic statistics at the Pasteur Institute of Lille and obtained a doctorate in epidemiology at the University of Lille.
She then carried out a research stay in clinical neuroscience at St George’s University Hospital in London, then a post-doctoral fellowship at the Boston University School of Medicine within the neuroepidemiology and neurogenetics unit – where she participated in particular in research projects. research on the famous Framingham cohort. She obtained her authorization to direct research from Paris-Diderot University in 2013. Lecturer in Paris between 2010 and 2014, she joined the University of Bordeaux as a university professor – hospital practitioner in 2014.
The career of Professor Stéphanie Debette is marked by a commitment to large-scale fundamental research projects, particularly on the genomics of complex neurological diseases, but also an investment in clinical research – in the service of improving treatment. patient care and diagnosis. She coordinates and actively participates in international expert committees dedicated to the development of consensus and recommendations for clinical practice.
These activities are enriched by more than 300 publications, an ERC, a European research program on neurodegenerative diseases (JPND), and a university hospital research program on cerebral small vessel disease (RHU SHIVA). In 2023, the Vascular Brain Health Institute (VBHI) project that it is carrying out in Bordeaux is the winner of the IHU 3 call for projects as part of the France 2030 plan; it is located at the intersection of centers of excellence in public health, neuroscience and cardiovascular research.
As chair of the International Stroke Genetics Consortium (ISGC) and a member of the research steering committee of the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium, the researcher has helped expand research collaborations across continents , establishing lasting partnerships not only in Europe, North America and Australia, but also in Asia, Africa and Latin America. From 2018 to 2022, she is vice-president in charge of external relations at the University of Bordeaux and co-coordinates the construction of the European university alliance ENLIGHT.
Ambitions at the service of the Brain Institute
Professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Bordeaux and neurologist at Bordeaux University Hospital since 2014, Professor Stéphanie Debette directed the Bordeaux Population Health (BPH) research center until April 2024, co-hosted by the University of Bordeaux and Inserm, and IHU VBHI since 2023.
This interest in the determinants and developments of health naturally extended to the major research missions of the Brain Institute: understanding and treating neurological and psychiatric diseases, some of which have an increasing incidence in the population and constitute a major burden for our society.
From January 2025, she will co-direct, with Professor Hugues Chabriat, a new research team at the Brain Institute; this will be dedicated to the study of vascular diseases of the brain, and will focus, among other things, on the continuum between the genetic factors which contribute to rare, monogenic forms, and to common, multifactorial forms. The team will also study the impact of vascular factors on neurodegenerative diseases.
The appointment of Professor Stéphanie Debette concludes a demanding selection process, and follows the advice of a Search Committee and the Coordination Committee of the general convention bringing together all the partners of the Brain Institute.
Selection of awards and distinctions
2008 : Bettencourt Prize for young researchers.
2016 : Prize from the Claude Pompidou Foundation for research into Alzheimer’s disease.
2019 : Prize for scientific excellence from the European Stroke Organization.
2022 : Named Knight in the National Order of Merit.
2023 : Marie-Claude Burrus Prize from the Foundation for Medical Research.
2024 : Prix Hans-Chiari of the Austrian Stroke Society.
2024 : Scientific prize from the NRJ-Institut de France Foundation.
2024 : Inserm Grand Prix.
2024 : Elected to the Academy of Sciences, Biology and Health Commission.
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