The Institut Pasteur is pleased to announce that this year, seven scientists have secured a research associate position and one scientist has been recruited as an associate professor. These new positions, which reflect the dynamism of the Institut Pasteur's research and its close collaboration with partners including the CNRS, Inserm and Université Paris Cité, will strengthen scientific expertise on campus.

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Seven new research associates and an associate professor in 2026:

Three Institut Pasteur research associates: 

• Christophe Rouillon, whois studying the molecular aspects of bacterial immunity, in the Synthetic Biology Unit led by David Bikard; 

• Violaine Saint-André, who is studying the regulation of gene expression and epigenetic changes in healthy and pathological immune responses, in the Translational Immunology five-year unit led by Darragh Duffy;

• Maël Bessaud, Head of the Enteroviruses and Parechoviruses CNR, in the Viral Adaptation and Spillover Unit led by Nolwenn Jouvenet.

Three CNRS research associates: 

• Ernest Mordret, who is developing artificial intelligence techniques to better understand the function of genes in bacterial genomes, in the Molecular Diversity of Microbes Unit led by Aude Bernheim and the Genetics of Genomes joint unit (UMR 3525) led by Eduardo Rocha;

• Adrià Sogues, who is studying the molecular mechanisms of bacterial sporulation in the Bacterial Cell Cycle Mechanisms Unit led by Anne-Marie Wehenkel and the Structural Molecular Biology and Infectious Process joint unit (UMR 3528) led by Marc Delarue; 

• Layal Massara, who is studying why a chronic lung disease responsible for breathing difficulties that is the third leading cause of death worldwide does not affect everyone in the same way, with the aim of developing tailored treatments for each patient, in the Integrative Neurobiology of Cholinergic Systems Unit led by Uwe Maskos and the Genes, Synapses and Cognition joint unit (UMR 3571) led by Pierre-Jean Corringer. 

One Inserm research associate: 

• Lise Hobeika, who is studying the brain mechanisms responsible for chronic tinnitus in the Neural Coding and Neuroengineering of Human Speech Functions team at the Hearing Institute led by Anne-Lise Giraud. 

One associate professor at Université Paris Cité: 

• Guillaume Beauclair, who is studying the mechanisms used by zoonotic viruses to cross the species barrier in the Environment and Infectious Risks Unit led by Jean-Claude Manuguerra. 

An ongoing dynamic to strengthen scientific teams 
Over the past two years, 18 scientists have secured a research associate position and two have been appointed as associate professors from among the Institut Pasteur's teams. 

As a reminder, in 2025, 12 research associates were recruited – three at the Institut Pasteur, five at the CNRS, three at Inserm and one at Inria. An associate professor at Université Paris Cité was also recruited.

See the article about the 2025 appointments.

The Institut Pasteur would like to extend its congratulations to all these scientists for their new positions and wish them every success as they pursue their research.