Christian Bréchot

Christian Bréchot holds MD PhD degrees. Beginning in 1981 he studied molecular biology, virology, and cellular biology in Pierre Tiollais’ laboratory at the Institut Pasteur, and at the Necker Faculty of Medicine; he graduated his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Paris VII in 1985. In 1989 he became full professor of Cell Biology and Hepatology, and in 1997 he was appointed head of the clinical department of liver diseases at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital. He has been in charge of a research unit at the Necker Faculty of Medicine, jointly supported by Inserm (the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research), Paris Descartes University, and the Institut Pasteur; he was also head of the National Reference Centre on viral hepatitis from 1998 to 2001. From 2001 to 2007, Christian Bréchot was General Director of Inserm. From 2008 to 2013, he has been appointed Vice-president in charge of Medical and Scientific affairs of the Institut-Mérieux company. Institut-Merieux is a holding company which merges the efforts of four companies involved in in vitro diagnostics, preventive and therapeutic vaccines, as well as food safety (bioMérieux, Transgene, Merieux Nutrisciences, Advanced Bioscience Laboratory). He has been also involved in the Scientific Direction of the Technological Research Institute BIOASTER on infectious diseases and microbiology, a joint action between Lyon and Paris Institut Pasteur. Since October 1st, 2013, he is the President of Institut Pasteur.