On October 30th 2023, the Bioceb students from Cohort 3 – Track 1 were welcomed at the famous historical site of the Institut Pasteur in Paris, 25 rue du Docteur Roux. Founded in 1887, this international research and education institute contributes to the progress of biological science, medicine and public health.
As an introduction to the afternoon, the students had the honor to enter the house where Louis Pasteur lived with his wife Marie. They also visited the “salle des souvenirs scientifiques” which was inaugurated in 1938. Despite the absence of furniture, due to the renovation works of the building, the students were propelled 150 years back through the fascinating explanations given by Chantal Pflieger, lecturer and librarian at the Pasteur museum.
Then, the students met Philippe Glaser, Research Director leading the group “Ecology and evolution of antibiotics resistance”, who offered them a tour of the campus between the different buildings carrying the name of famous researchers. This expert in bacterial genomics explained his group’s activities to the students and focused on the mechanisms responsible for the evolution of the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. Taking examples from different regions of the world and mobilizing the students’ knowledge in biology and chemistry, he sparked interest of the audience.
To complete this afternoon combining science and culture, the students met Elena Lopez Rodriguez, a PhD student at Institut Pasteur from Bioceb’s first cohort who presented her research topic (“Accelerated evolution of nanobodies using diversity generating retroelements”) and shared experience and information about how finding and funding a PhD thesis. No doubt that her enthusiasm will have encouraged students to follow her steps towards a brilliant scientific career…
Updated November 2023