Anne Dejean-Assémat
Anne Dejean-Assémat | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 6, 1957 France |
| Occupation(s) | Molecular biologist, Research Director |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Known for | Research on molecular mechanisms of cancer, acute promyelocytic leukemia, SUMO biology |
| Notable work | Discovery of PML-RARa oncoprotein, contributions to oncogene-targeted therapy for APL |
Anne Dejean-Assémat (born 6 January 1957) is a French expert in molecular biology with a focus on the processes underlying human cancer progression. She holds a professorship at the Pasteur Institute and serves as Research Director at Inserm, where she leads the Nuclear Organization and Oncogenesis research team within the Pasteur Institute.
Biography
Anne Dejean-Assémat obtained her Master of Science degree in Genetics from Pierre and Marie Curie University in 1980, followed by completing her doctoral studies at the Pasteur Institute in 1988 under the mentorship of Pierre Tiollais. Her dissertation examined the involvement of integrated hepatitis B virus sequences in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. In 2003, she was appointed head of a joint Pasteur Institute/Inserm laboratory. She is recognized as a member of the EMBO, the French Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her accolades include the Gagna and Van Heck Prize (2003), the L'Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science (2010), the Grand Prix Inserm (2014), and the Sjöberg Prize (2018).
Scientific contributions
As a specialist in cancer molecular biology, Anne Dejean-Assémat has been instrumental in advancing understanding of nuclear receptors and their roles in human cancers. She identified mutations in genes coding for retinoic acid receptors (RAR) present in both liver cancer and a rare form of leukemia, clarifying molecular mechanisms that underpin targeted oncology treatments.
Her pioneering discovery involved a mutation within a liver tumor linked to hepatitis B virus, revealing how viral DNA integration disrupts host genes and initiates liver cancer. This research led to cloning the RARb gene and uncovering the first retinoic acid response element. Collaborating with Hugues de Thé, she identified the PML-RARa oncoprotein responsible for causing acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) and elucidated its oncogenic pathways.
Dejean-Assémat's investigations demonstrated how APL can be effectively treated using both retinoic acid and arsenic, representing a potent form of oncogene-targeted therapy originally developed in China. She showed that retinoic acid reverses defects in leukemic cells and that PML Nuclear Bodies—structures disrupted in APL—are restored by these therapies. Furthermore, her work revealed that arsenic triggers post-translational modifications leading to degradation of the PML-RARa oncoprotein.
Her laboratory has significantly contributed to expanding knowledge about SUMO biology by establishing sumoylation as an essential epigenetic mechanism regulating gene expression, suppressing innate immune responses, and preserving cellular identity. These findings suggest new avenues for regenerative medicine and cancer therapies through pharmacological control of sumoylation processes.
In 2019, three publications from Dejean-Assémat's group were retracted due to issues involving image manipulation. Investigations conducted by the Pasteur Institute, CNRS, and Inserm concluded that fraudulent actions were carried out by a former staff scientist involved in those studies.
Memberships and awards
Anne Dejean-Assémat has served in prominent scientific advisory capacities, notably as president of the Genetics, Development and Cancer committee at Inserm from 2008 to 2012. Her distinguished honors include the Mergier-Bourdeix Prize awarded by the French Academy of Sciences in 1997, the Rosen Prize from the Medical Research Foundation in 1998, and the Mitjaville Prize granted by the National Academy of Medicine in 1999. She was also recognized with the Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence in Leukemia Therapy in 2000, followed by the Gagna and Van Heck Prize in 2003. In 2010, she received both the Léopold Griffuel Prize from the Association de recherche en cancérologie and the L'Oréal-Unesco Prize for Women in Science. Later accolades include the Duquesne Prize from la Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer (2014), the Grand Prix Inserm (2014), and the Sjöberg Prize bestowed by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2018.
She was awarded two European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants, first in 2011 and again in 2018. Among her national distinctions are appointments as Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite in 2012 and recipient of the Légion d'honneur in 2016.
Anne Dejean-Assémat holds memberships in several esteemed institutions, including the EMBO since 1995, the French Academy of Sciences since 2004, Academia Europaea from 2005 onward, European Academy of Cancer Sciences since 2011, and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020.