Stéphanie Debette wins the Inserm 2024 Grand Prize

Stéphanie Debette, co-director and researcher in the BPH-ELEANOR ‘Molecular Epidemiology of Vascular and Cerebral Disorders’ team, director of the BPH from 2022 to 2024, director of the VBHI IHU launched in July 2024, has just been awarded the prestigious Inserm Grand Prix on 11 December 2024.

 

 

 

This distinction, one of the highest scientific awards in France, underlines the remarkable impact of his work and his significant contributions to the field of population neuroscience and genetic epidemiology.

 

 

 

© Inserm/François Guénet

 

 

After Lille, Boston and Paris, Stéphanie Debette joined Bordeaux as University Professor – Hospital Practitioner in 2014. She was Vice-President in charge of external relations at the University of Bordeaux and in this capacity helped to develop strategic international partnerships, in particular the ENLIGHT alliance of European universities.

 

She directed the Inserm Bordeaux Population Health Research Centre (BPH) and built and led the VBHI (Precision and Global Vascular Brain Health Institute) project in Bordeaux, which brings together various partners and members of the BPH to focus on cerebrovascular health. She has been leading the VBHI since it was accredited in 2023.

 

 

 

 

Major contributions :

 

Stéphanie Debette’s work has considerably enriched our understanding of neurovascular diseases and in particular small cerebral vessel disease, a very common pathology affecting several million people in France. It has enabled us to identify susceptibility genes and understand the underlying molecular mechanisms, leading to new avenues for therapeutic targets and prospects for precision prevention of stroke and dementia.

 

Her work also paved the way for extensive collaborative and international studies by playing a very active role in building new international consortia in its field. This has led to a change of scale in the research carried out, which has been enriched by a wide range of expertise and rich data from every continent.

 

 

Contributions on the large cohorts monitored at the BPH

 

Within the BPH, her multidisciplinary approach combining clinical expertise, genomic approaches, imaging and data sciences (omics) has enriched cohort studies such as the 3C (Trois-Cités) and IShare cohorts. Her research into risk factors for cerebrovascular pathology and her work on MRI markers of cerebral ageing were particularly relevant to the 3C study, which focuses on the elderly. In the i-Share student study, where she was involved as principal investigator, she brought her expertise in epidemiology and neurology to bear.

 

 

A coordinator’s role

 

In addition to the BPH research centre, Stéphanie Debette has coordinated a number of major projects, including :

 

• an ERC (European Research Council) programme,
• an hospital-university research programme (Investissements d’avenir) on small cerebral vessel disease (RHU-SHIVA), which aims to improve understanding, prevention and treatment of this common pathology,
• a JPND programme,
• the CADISP consortium on cervical arterial dissections,
• the International Stroke Genetics Consortium (ISGC), which she chaired between 2017 and 2019.

 

 

 

We’re all delighted and proud to be able to work and carry out our research alongside him!

 

 

Read more about Stéphanie Debette’s portrait and watch the ceremony again : Prix Inserm 2024 : découvrir les lauréates et les lauréats · Inserm, La science pour la santé