About the PI | Mysite

Hélène Léger, PhD

Passionate by the genetic and molecular mechanisms that underline the development and differentiation of eukaryotic cells, I graduate, in 2008, in Cellular and Developmental biology from the Université Paris-Sud XI (Orsay, France).

During my PhD, I studied the coupling between DNA repair and transcription regulation in Arndt Benecke’s lab (University Lille 1, Villeneuve d’Ascq, France), using molecular and biochemistry approaches combined with global transcriptome profiling methods.

Then I moved to Philadelphia, where I decided to unravel mechanisms involved in the retinal cell proliferation and differentiation, in Dr. Francis Luca’s lab (University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine). In collaboration with Drs. Beltran and Aguirre, I generated (CRISPR and CRE-LOX system) and analyzed mouse models to study the role of the Hippo pathway kinases Ndr1 and Ndr2 in retinal tissues. It was so exciting to observed cell cycle reentry in differentiated neurons. I also demonstrated that Ndr2 kinase modulate the expression of genes involved in retinal response to stress. I have become curious about the role of the immune cells in retinal homeostasis and the impact of abnormal immunological response in retinal degenerative diseases.

Therefore, I moved to Coimbra (Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research, Coimbra, Portugal) where I joined the Retinal Dysfunction and Neuroinflammation Lab (RD&N lab) to study the role of Ndr1 and Ndr2 kinases as new therapeutical targets of inflammatory processes regulation in retinal degenerative diseases.

I loves working metal, gardening (it's a fun kind of biology) and spending time with my family and my cats, reading on the sofa (I always reads the last chapter first!).