Unveiling the molecular basis of T cell malfunctions and disorders using quantitative interactomics

Dr. Bernard Malissen is the Head of the “Molecular Biology Lymphocyte Interactions” Laboratory and Director of the Center for Immunology at the Centre d’Immunologie INSERM-CNRS, Marseille-Luminy. He obtained his PhD in 1982 and subsequently joined the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). Throughout his career, Dr. Malissen has held significant positions, including leading an INSERM research unit in Marseille-Luminy and serving as the Director of the Marseille-Luminy Immunology Centre from 1995 to 2005. In 2003, he was elected to the French Academy of Sciences. He is also the founder and director of the Centre for Immunophenomics (CIPHE).

He pioneered gene transfer techniques to study T cell function and reconstructed a full TCR complex.His team was the first to elucidate the atomic structure of an alloreactive TCR in complex with its peptide-MHC ligand, offering a molecular explanation for transplant rejection and TCR binding-degeneracy. More recently, Dr. Malissen’s research has extended to dendritic cells and macrophages, primarily focusing on their functional complexity in the skin. To understand the signal transduction networks involved in T cell activation, his team employed “omic” approaches to provide a systems-level picture of the TCR signal transduction network and its modulation by costimulatory and coinhibitory receptors.