Olivier Rossier is an INSERM research faculty. He obtained his PhD in soft matter physical chemistry with Françoise Brochard-Wyart (Institut Curie). Afterwards, he moved to the lab of Michael P. Sheetz (Columbia University) for a post-doctoral stay. In 2010, he joined Grégory Giannone and participated to the creation of team “Mechano-biology of motile and neuronal structures” at the Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience. He launched a new research area on in vitro reconstitution and on methods to monitor in live cells the dynamics, conformation changes and protein-protein interactions of integrin and associated proteins (talin, kindlin,...).

SCIENTIFIC CONTEXT

The activity is headed by Olivier Rossier (CRCN, senior researcher at INSERM) and currently involves Morgane Rosendale (post doctoral fellow), Adrien Joly and Violeta Milanovic (PhD students), Mélanie Fabre and Nassim Haffiane (engineers). The general line of research consists in developping original tools and approaches to elucidate at the molecular level, biological processes leading to integrin activation and that are involved in the basis of cell motility and mechanosensing in fibroblasts and macrophages as well as synaptic transmission in neurons.

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

With the advent of single protein tracking, it is now possible to observe in living cells the dynamics of integrins and associated proteins with high spatial and temporal resolution. Our group demonstrated that upon activation, integrins switch from free-diffusion to an immobilization state (Rossier etal., NCB 2012). Based on this discovery, the overall objective of the group is now to unveil the molecular basis of integrin activation and mechanotransduction by deciphering how integrin receptors and associated proteins’ organization, conformation and mobility are controlled by mechanical forces or environmental cues.

FUNDING

Past and current funding sources include grants from the ANR (3DPolariSR 2020, NanoTopoAdhesion 2022), the Conseil Regional d’Aquitaine (2021), ITMO/Aviesan PlanCancer (2022), the Fondation pour la Recherche Medicale (FRM) and the Fondation ARC pour la recherche sur le Cancer.

CURRENT LAB MEMBERS

• Morgane Rosendale (post doctoral fellow)                                                   
• Adrien Joly (graduate student)                                                   
• Violeta Milanovic (graduate student)                                                   
• Nassim Haffiane (engineer)                                                   
• Mélanie Fabre (lab manager- AI CNRS)

FORMER LAB MEMBERS

• Thomas Orré (graduate student 2014-2018)                              
• Zeynep Karatas (Engineers and technical staff)                             
• Lindsey Negrobar (undergrad M2)                             
• Nolan Pellecuier (undergrad M1)