Edith Heard
Edith Heard | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965 |
| Nationality | British-French |
| Occupation(s) | Scientist, researcher, professor |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Known for | Epigenetics, X-chromosome inactivation, Director General of EMBL |
| Spouse | Vincent Colot |
| Children | 2 |
Edith Heard (born 1965) is a British-French scientist specializing in epigenetics who has led the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) as Director General since January 2019. She also holds a professorship at the Collège de France, where she occupies the Chair of Epigenetics and Cellular Memory, and is slated to assume the role of CEO at the Francis Crick Institute in London in 2025.
Between 2010 and 2018, Heard was the head of the Genetics and Developmental Biology unit at the Curie Institute (Paris). Her work is highly regarded for advancing understanding of X-chromosome inactivation, a fundamental epigenetic mechanism influencing gene regulation and cellular memory.
Education
Heard completed a Bachelor of Arts in Natural Sciences (Genetics) at the University of Cambridge (Emmanuel College) in 1986. She earned her PhD in 1990 from Imperial College London, focusing on gene amplification in rat cells during her tenure at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratory.
Career and research
Her expertise lies in genetics, epigenetics, and developmental biology, with a particular emphasis on X-chromosome inactivation. Heard’s investigation into this field began during her postdoctoral studies at the Pasteur Institute in the 1990s and continued at CNRS, where she explored the regulatory role of the X-inactivation centre locus. In 2000, while at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, she identified initial chromatin alterations associated with X inactivation.
In 2001, Heard founded her own laboratory at Institut Curie. Her research group established that X-chromosome inactivation occurs twice during development—initially within placental cells and subsequently within embryonic cells. Utilizing cutting-edge single-cell methodologies, she examined embryos and stem cells to uncover dynamic features of X-inactivation and interspecies variations. Her groundbreaking studies underscored how chromosome architecture and nuclear compartmentalization contribute to both the initiation and maintenance phases of X inactivation. Collaborating with Job Dekker, her team characterized Topologically Associating Domains (TADs) within the X-inactivation centre.
Heard has held the Chair of Epigenetics and Cellular Memory at the Collège de France and directed Genetics and Developmental Biology at Institut Curie from 2010 to 2018. In 2019, she transitioned her laboratory to EMBL. Additionally, in 2016, she played a key role in establishing France’s Programme d'aide à l'accueil en urgence des scientifiques en exil (PAUSE), which supports scientists displaced by crises.
Appointed Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in June 2017, Heard officially took office in January 2019. Since 2021, she has been part of the science council for the World Health Organization (WHO).
Other activities
Heard contributes her expertise to several Scientific Advisory Boards, including those of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (Copenhagen), Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Crete), and the Francis Crick Institute. In 2023, she chaired the committee responsible for selecting Yasmine Belkaid as director of the Institut Pasteur.
Awards and honours
In recognition of her groundbreaking epigenetics research, Heard was awarded the Inserm Grand Prix in 2017. Her election as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2013 acknowledged her pioneering contributions to understanding X-chromosome inactivation. Among her key advancements are the creation of single-cell methodologies for studying embryos and stem cells, which have uncovered the dynamic nature of X-inactivation across mammalian species and emphasized the significance of chromosome architecture in gene regulation.
Her distinguished accolades also include the Grand Prix de la Fondation pour la recherche médicale (2011), the Prix Jean Hamburger (2009), the FSER award (2005), induction into EMBO Membership since 2005, and the Suffrage Science award (2012). Additionally, she was honored with the European Society for Human Genetics Award in 2017 and received the Hansen Family Award in 2019.
In 2020, Heard was a laureate of the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards. She was appointed to serve on the World Health Organization Science Council and became a foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2021. That same year, she gained membership in the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and was elected as an International Member of the National Academy of Medicine. In 2022, Heard joined both the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Later that year, her contributions to epigenetics were further recognized with election to the French Academy of Sciences.
December 2024 saw Heard honored with the esteemed CNRS Gold Medal. The following year, she was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) during the 2025 Birthday Honours, acknowledging her scientific achievements and efforts fostering UK-France relations. In 2025, she was also awarded The Croonian Medal and Lecture, celebrating her leadership in advancing knowledge on X-chromosome biology.
Personal life
Heard is married to Vincent Colot, a molecular biologist from France. Together, they have two children.