Translation of the press release from the Claude Pompidou Foundation for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases:

For its 13th edition, the Claude Pompidou Prize, worth €100,000, recognized the work of the “Biophysics of the brain” team at the CNRS-SPPIN, Saints-Pères Paris Institute for the Neurosciences at Université Paris Cité, led by Martin Oheim.

Among neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s disease (168,000 people affected in France) is a motor disorder characterized by the destruction of certain neurons in the brain. The hypothesis of an enteric origin of Parkinson’s disease, first proposed in the early 2000s, has since been supported by numerous observations. Pathogens are thought to cross the intestinal barrier and come into contact with neurons in the nervous system of the intestine, often described as a second brain.

Dr. Oheim and his team have successfully developed a method for 3D imaging of the intestinal wall without prior labeling, using a fast two-photon microscope and tissue transparency techniques developed and patented by their laboratory.

The Foundation Prize now gives them the means to acquire a new-generation laser, enabling three-dimensional imaging of the intestinal nervous system through observation of endogenous fluorescence and contrast generated by a complex optical process. The Prize will also enable the purchase of a powerful computer for image calculation and reconstruction, and an upgrade of the data storage and backup infrastructure.

Detailed analysis of alterations in the intestinal wall will now make it possible, in a way that has never been done before, to gather valuable information on the early signs of the disease and contribute to its diagnosis.

The Foundation warmly congratulates the winner and thanks its donors for their continued generosity!

At the awards ceremony, Dr. Oheim thanked the foundation and particularly emphasized the need for public research funding.

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The hypothesis of an enteric origin of Parkinson’s disease, first proposed in the early 2000s, has since been supported by numerous observations. Pathogens are thought to cross the intestinal barrier and come into contact with neurons in the nervous system of the intestine, often described as a second brain.

Dr. Oheim and his team have successfully developed a method for 3D imaging of the intestinal wall without prior labeling, using a fast two-photon microscope and tissue transparency techniques developed and patented by their laboratory. They have thus developed a technique that will enable the detection of neurodegenerative diseases (especially Parkinson’s) from colonoscopies.

The Foundation’s Prize now gives them the means to acquire a new-generation laser, enabling three-dimensional imaging of the intestinal nervous system through the observation of endogenous fluorescence and contrast generated by a complex optical process. The Prize will also enable the purchase of a powerful computer for image calculation and reconstruction, and an upgrade of the data storage and backup infrastructure.

Detailed analysis of alterations in the intestinal wall will now make it possible, in a way that has never been done before, to gather valuable information on the early signs of disease and contribute to its diagnosis.

At a ceremony to be held soon, the Foundation will warmly congratulate the winners and thank its donors for their loyal generosity.

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This recognition highlights the innovative nature of Eshak’s work at SPPIN, which bridges fundamental research and therapeutic applications. Her award-winning research contributes to the development of novel treatment approaches for complex psychiatric disorders, showcasing the laboratory’s commitment to excellence in neuropharmacological research. Eshak was among eleven outstanding young researchers honored by Université Paris Cité for their exceptional contributions to various scientific fields.

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The Einstein Foundation has awarded its prestigious 2024 Institutional Award to PubPeer, the post-publication peer review platform co-founded by SPPIN’s Brandon Stell and IBENS’s Boris Barbour. The foundation award, in collaboration with the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, recognizes PubPeer’s transformative impact on scientific communication and research integrity. This recognition has a particular resonance at SPPIN, where Brandon Stell co-leads the Cerebellar Neurophysiology team.

Since its launch in 2012, PubPeer has become an essential platform for scientific discourse, logging over 300,000 comments across all academic domains. The platform enables researchers to openly discuss published work, identify potential issues, and improve scientific rigor.

Dorothy Bishop, Emeritus Professor at Oxford University who nominated PubPeer, emphasized its crucial role: “Having discussions out in the open makes a big difference to the quality of scientific debate.” Bernard Poulain, of CNRS Biology, commended the award: “It honours your commitment to the research community by encouraging transparent and open discussion of published scientific reports.”

The €200,000 award will support PubPeer’s future development, including initiatives to foster user communities and expand scientific discussions beyond fraud detection to broader research evaluation.

PubPeer shares the 2024 Einstein Foundation honors with individual award winner Elisabeth Bik and early career recipients Pixelquality (Christopher Schmied and Helena Jambor).

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On June 12, Daniel Zytnicki was awarded the CNRS Medal of Honor, in recognition of his outstanding contributions during his 40 years with the CNRS.

Daniel Zitnicky completed his thesis at the Collège de France under the supervision of Yves Laporte and Lena Jami. He then did a post-doc in Sweden with E Jankowska, where he learned the technique of intracellular motor neuron recordings. On his return, he transferred and established this technique in Prof. Laporte’s laboratory in Paris. When Prof. Laporte retired, Daniel joined Léna Jami, who founded the Physiology and Biology of Motor Activity Laboratory (URA 1448). Daniel succeeded Léna Jami in founding and running the Neurophysics and Physiology Laboratory (UMR 8119). The end of his role as laboratory director did not mean the end of his dedication to the community: Daniel founded the Paris Descartes Ethics Committee, headed the Neuroscience Research Federation at the St Pères and co-directed the ED3C doctoral school, while also heading the scientific committee of the St Pères animal facility and working to modernize it. As an emeritus, Daniel now leads a wide range of scientific projects (including numerous collaborations with Poland, Germany, England and the USA).

Congratulations Daniel!

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The award was given on May 30^th during the 2024 INC Young Investigator Day held at the Institut Necker Enfants Malades (INEM).

Congratulations to all awardees and shout out to Rania!

You’ll find a list of all our scholarship winners here.

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At this night’s competition of Sorbonne Paris Cité University, SPPIN’s Doriane HAZART (team1) received the special prize fo the Jury for her performance in the science vulgarisation exercise “My thesis in 180s”.

Martin Oheim, director of SPPIN, reacted : “The In the name of all the SPPIN, I would wish to congratulate Doriane and wish her all the best for the next chapter of her PhD work. Bravo!“

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Congratulations to Floriane Eshak, PhD student of team 4 (Membrane Dynamics), who won two prizes this summer :

• Best oral communication at the Société de Chimie Thérapeutique, 29th young researcher Fellows meeting (July 2022)
• Best presentation prize at the European Federation for medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, Young Medicinal Chemists’ Symposium (September 2022)

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Martin OHEIM, CNRS research director and director of the SPPIN, has been awarded the 2021 Sackler Prize and has just been selected as IAS Sackler Distinguished Scholar at Tel Aviv University in the new cross-faculty research center for Light-Matter Interactions. He has been honoured for his work on non-linear microscopy and deep-tissue imaging.

The Mortimer and Raymond Sackler Institute of Advanced Studies promotes and supports visits at Tel Aviv University by eminent experts in different academic fields from outside the University.

Candidates are selected, by the IAS board members, on the basis of prominence in innovative and essential fields in scientific and academic development, while special priority is given to those areas in which collaboration between an IAS visitor and an existing research group at the University will be most beneficial.

IAS Distinguished Scholars can be invited for a period of either 1-2 weeks or 1-3 months and are expected to deliver a few lectures during their visit.

IAS Distinguished Scholars are free to carry out their own research at the University, to collaborate with other researchers in joint work, or to participate in any way they see fit in the life of the University. Many visitors have chosen to give a few lectures in their field of expertise. The lectures are frequently the highlight of the semester and attended by academics from all over Israel.

Discover the complete list of “IAS Sackler Distinguished Scholar” 2021-2022

News in French on the CNRS Life Sciences website

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The young investigator Pauf F. Cranefield award goes to Federico Trigo for his 2020 J Gen Physiol paper. Fede, currently with the Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE) in Montevideo, Uruguay, used Ca2+ uncaging and patch-clamp electrophysiology to show that the prior history of Ca2+ elevation affects release probability of vesicles that fuse with high or low latency, a phenomenon of critical importance for understanding the effects of conditioning stimulation. We congratulate Fede and all co-workers to this success!

The society of General Physiology is a North-american scientific society with the mission to promote and disseminate knowledge and interest in the subject of general physiology.

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