Death of Spencer Shorte

Spencer Shorte was born on January 5, 1966 in London. After completing a biochemistry degree at the University of Kent in Canterbury, he embarked on a PhD in the same subject at the University of Bristol, graduating in 1992.

He then moved to France to complete a first postdoctoral fellowship at the Institut Cochin (1995-1996), then a second at the Institut Pasteur in the unit led by Henri Korn (1996-1999). He then pursued his career in the United States, as Assistant Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston (1999-2001).

In 2001, Spencer Shorte returned to the Institut Pasteur as a research engineer to lead the Center for Dynamic Imaging, then the Imagopole from 2005 onwards. He was promoted to senior research engineer in 2007, then appointed as Head of the Photonic BioImaging technology and service unit (UTechS) in 2017. From 2021 to 2025, he served as Chief Scientific Officer at the Institut Pasteur Korea. On his return to the Institut Pasteur, he was appointed as Director of the Center for Technological Resources and Research (C2RT).

Spencer Shorte played a crucial role in microscopy development and innovation at the Institut Pasteur. Under his leadership, the imaging center consolidated its position as a leader in state-of-the-art photonic imaging technologies. His expertise paved the way for several research projects in a variety of fields such as fundamental cell biology, immunology, and research on host-pathogen interactions at molecular, tissue and whole-body level. He helped train up generations of scientists who are now working at prestigious research institutions in France, Europe, Australia and the United States.

He was founding president of the association Core Technology for Life Sciences (CTLS), aimed at scientists, technical experts and administrative professionals in core facilities, research infrastructures and shared resource laboratories. In 2003, he also founded the company Stratocore at the Institut Pasteur, offering an innovative tool for managing and planning shared equipment. The tool has now been rolled out in more than 20 organizations on four continents, and in 2011 a US subsidiary was established.

In collaboration with French mathematician Bernard Chalmond from the École Normale Supérieure, he contributed to the rise of micro-CT scanning, which earned him the title of Engineer of the Year in 2005 in the Science Awards category. In 2015, in recognition of the excellence of his research, he won the Lebrasseur Prize from the Fondation de France.

Spencer Shorte's research resulted in more than 80 scientific publications in international peer-reviewed journals, five research patents and innovative image analysis software, consolidating his position as a leader in the field of cell, tissue and in vivo imaging.

Spencer Shorte was internationally recognized for his expertise and was unanimously respected and admired. His professionalism, scientific rigor, discretion and sense of humor made him an esteemed colleague and a valued friend.
 
Spencer Shorte died on January 8, 2025 at the age of 59.

The funeral will be held on Thursday January 23 at 1.30pm at the Père Lachaise crematorium.

The management team and staff of the Institut Pasteur would like to express their heartfelt condolences to his family.

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