Medicine

Substance use disorders are prevalent forms of mental illness that have severe consequences for affected individuals and the broader society. The chronic nature of these conditions is explained in large part by the interaction of psychological and brain-based processes that imprison the individual in a long-term cycle of remission and relapse. Based on innovative technology using smartphones, we are now able to track these psychological processes in real-time and in everyday environments.

The infamous Alzheimer's disease is at the heart of numerous research, because of the number of patients suffering from it, and the lack of known cure at the moment. This is why researchers endeavor to better understand the process by which the disease evolves, and this at different scales. The project to which I will contribute within the Gentles Lab aims at exploiting multiscale data in order to better determine the progression of the disease, using machine learning and computational methods.

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is one of the most curable malignancies with the current treatments. However, in 2022 two major issues are still present: roughly 15%-20% of cases experience a treatment failure and long-term toxicities of chemotherapy are frequent (namely fertility, cardiac and respiratory disorders).

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a serious chronic disease that causes skin lesions and joint pain but can also affect vital organs. Renal involvement is the most common severe manifestation of lupus, often leading to end-stage renal failure requiring hemodialysis and is therefore an important cause of mortality. Renal involvement during lupus is diagnosed by the renal biopsy, which helps to distinguish several different forms of the disease.

Pediatric liver transplantation is a very challenging surgical procedure that saves lives for children that are born or develop severe liver disease. The pediatric liver transplant program at Stanford, is one of the largest program in United States with excellent outcomes for both graft and patient survival. Similarly, L’hospital Necker Enfants malades in Paris is one of the largest centers in Europe with great outcomes.

The ability to orient attention to dynamic changes in the environment is an essential cognitive skill. Aberrations in this ability are often observed in many psychiatric and neurological disorders, but the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms are not well understood. This project focuses on the development of novel biologically inspired artificial intelligence models for characterizing human brain function and dysfunction, with a special focus on improving our understanding of these mechanisms.

Strokes that are caused by blockage of large blood vessels by clots are the most disabling. Despite new highly effective clot removal therapies, stroke-related disability remains substantial, because of brain damage (infarct) that progressively occurs in the time-period before clot removal. This time period can be long especially if patients need to be transferred from a community hospital that does not have the capability to provide the clot removal therapy to a comprehensive stroke center that does.

SAVI (Sting Associated Vasculopathy with Onset in Infancy) is a rare and an incurable disorder, with an early age of onset. It is caused by mutations in the STING gene, which is responsible for recognizing invading pathogens. Constitutively active STING, the hallmark of this disease, leads to chronic inflammation in the absence of infections. Currently, there is no definitive therapy for SAVI. The goal of this project is, therefore, to develop an innovative and safe gene therapy approach that is accessible by all SAVI patients.

Tissue regeneration through transplantation of therapeutic cells has the potential to revolutionize modern medicine. Therapeutic cells can migrate and differentiate to integrate into their biological environment. Despite great promises from preclinical applications, there are many open questions regarding successful approaches for tissue regeneration and safe applications of therapeutic cells in patients. Labeling therapeutic cells with imaging probes and tracking them with imaging technologies can answer these questions.

Septic shock corresponds to a life-threatening generalized inflammation observed in the most severe infections. It is a serious and common disease in patients admitted in Intensive Care Units. Acute renal failure is a major complication of septic shock, partly explaining the high mortality rates observed in septic patients. The onset of acute renal failure during septic shock is notably explained by unbalanced kidney inflammation, resulting in the presence of a large number of immune cells in renal compartments.