Contact & Infos

Prof. Barbara Demeneix
Switchbox Coordinator
+ 33 1 40 79 36 07

Ms. Joanne Burden
Switchbox Project Manager


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Successive ages of man :
François Lachiver
CNRS scientist, born in 1921

 

CNRS/MNHN UMR 7221

CNRS / MNHN UMR 7221

http://www.mnhn.fr/rddm/usm501/

The Joint Research Unit “Evolution of Endocrine Regulations”  (UMR7221), is affiliated with both the CNRS and the National Muséum of Natural History in Paris. The laboratory is headed by Prof Barbara Demeneix, also the Switchbox project coordinator.


Prof. Barbara Demeneix
Ms. Joanne Burden
Dr Marie-Stephanie Froidevaux
Ms. Isabelle Seugnet
Mr James Bowers

 

 

 

 















Previous Experience

Prof Demeneix is experienced coordinating international research consortia and translational research (including patents and start-ups, e.g. http://www.watchfrog.fr). The lab is characterised by its gene to organism approach to physiology with core facilities for laser microdissection, in vivo gene transfer and neurobiological techniques. Her team has recently shown that thyroid hormone exerts negative feedback on hypothalamic type 4 melanocortin receptor (Mc4R) expression, part of the leptin/energy homeostatsis signaling pathway (PNAS, in press).


Main Tasks

Besides managing the consortium, coordinating dissemination activities and organising the subcontracted work, CNRS will contribute to the rodent studies in all of the research WPs. Most notably their expertise in molecular and transcriptional aspects of hypothalamic gene regulation by thyroid hormone will allow them to address integration and control of target genes in different physiological states, during challenge and following intraventricular injections.


Short profile of key persons involved

Prof. Barbara A Demeneix
120 publications in endocrinology and physiology. Besides her role as Head of Department and Research unit, she is currently (till August 2011) co-ordinator of CRESCENDO an EU Integrated Project addressing the role of nuclear receptors in development and aging.

Dr Marie-Stéphanie Clerget-Froidevaux – Assistant professor
main research focus is thyroid hormone regulation of the TRH gene in the hypothalamus, control of metabolism,

Ms. Isabelle Seugnet – Research Engineer
Research Engineer trained as a biochemist. She has experience in real time qPCR, RNA extraction, ISH and is currently managing the implantation of laser microdissection technique in the lab.


Selected publications

Stéphanie Decherf, Isabelle Seugnet, Soumaya Kouidhi, Alejandra Lopez-Juarez, Marie-Stéphanie Clerget-Froidevaux, and Barbara A. Demeneix (2010) Thyroid hormone exerts negative feedback on hypothalamic type 4 melanocortin receptor expression.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. In press

Markov GV, Tavares R, Dauphin-Villemant C, Demeneix BA, Baker ME, Laudet V, Froidevaux MS, Berg P, Seugnet I, Decherf S, Becker N, Sachs LM, Bilesimo P, Nygård M, Pongratz I, Demeneix BA. (2006) “The co-chaperone XAP2 is required for activation of hypothalamic thyrotropin-releasing hormone transcription in vivo.
EMBO Rep. Oct;7(10):1035-9.4

Hassani Z, François J.C., Alfama G, Morvan G, Paris M., Giovannangeli C and Demeneix BA (2007). "A hybrid CMV-H1 construct improves efficiency of PEI-delivered shRNA in the mouse brain."
Nucleic Acids Res 35(9): e65.

Kouidhi S, Seugnet I, Decherf S, Guissouma H, Benammar Elgaaied A, Demeneix B, Clerget-Froidevaux, MS. (2010 in press), Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-g (PPARg) modulates hypothalamic Trh regulation in vivo.
Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. doi:10.1016/j.