On 10 October, LAI brought its scientific world to the general public for a day at Marseille’s Science Village, held at Place Villeneuve-Bargemon as part of Fête de la Science 2026. Through engaging discussions and accessible demonstrations, the team explored the fascinating mechanisms that enable our immune cells to navigate the body and interpret their environment. Visitors of all ages had the opportunity to discover our interdisciplinary research through a wide range of stands covering immunology, microbiology, neuroscience, biophysics, optics and theoretical physics. This unique immersive experience highlighted how the convergence of fundamental and medical sciences helps us unravel the mysteries of living systems and pave the way for the medicine of tomorrow.
LAI would like to extend its warmest congratulations to Norah, Jean-François and Marie-Pierre for their promotions.
They all brilliantly passed the internal competitive contest. Norah was promoted to engineer, Jean-François to research director and Marie-Pierre to professor.
On September 18, 2026, Jana El Husseiny successfully defended her PhD thesis, titled “Unravelling morphological and biophysical determinants of coccidian oocyst transmission and host infection”, conducted under the supervision of Aurélien Dumètre and Pierre-Henri Puech (LAI) and Julien Husson (LadHyX).
Her work was evaluated by a distinguished examination committee composed of Isabelle Tardieux, Yoël Forterre, Atef Asnacios, Mattie Christine Pawlowic, and Jean-Paul Rieu.
We thank Jana for her interdisciplinary work exploring how the morphology and physical properties of coccidian oocysts shape their transmission and ability to infect hosts, shedding new light on the remarkable resilience of these microscopic parasites. The LAI warmly congratulates Jana on this important milestone and wishes her every success and exciting discoveries in the next chapter of her scientific career.
We are pleased to announce the publication of a new article entitled “Bivalency of natalizumab promotes inhibition of dynamic VLA-4 adhesion beyond affinity gain.”
This publication holds a very special place for us, as it represents the final scientific work of our colleague Dominique Touchard, who passed away in January 2025.
Working with Dominique was always a pleasure. Our collaborations with her were constructive, efficient and full of enthusiasm. Beyond the science, we also remember with great affection the many joyful moments we shared with her, especially over lunch.We miss her greatly, and we are very happy to see this work, to which she contributed so much, now published.
Abstract : This study shows how natalizumab functionally inhibits α4β1 (very late antigen-4, VLA-4)–mediated T-cell adhesion by integrating quantitative affinity measurements with dynamic assays performed under shear stress. We show that the antibody’s bivalency provides a major functional advantage, enabling strong inhibition of cell capture and adhesion at concentrations near its EC50 (half-maximal effective concentration), whereas monovalent Fab fragments require 10- to 100-fold higher doses. These findings offer biological insight into why receptor occupancy alone cannot predict adhesion inhibition. By combining cell-based affinity quantification with real-time adhesion and migration assays, our work reveals how kinetic and geometric properties of antibody–integrin interactions shape immune cell dynamics, informing the rational design of next-generation integrin-targeting therapeutics.
We are delighted to welcome Dr Louise Basmaciyan, PhD, PharmD, Associate Professor and Hospital Practitioner (MCU-PH) at Université de Bourgogne Europe, who is joining LAI for a one-year scientific mobility.
Louise’s research focuses on interactions between intestinal microorganisms and the digestive mucosa. During her stay at LAI, she will investigate how Cryptosporidium, an intestinal parasite, interacts with and crosses the intestinal mucus barrier, combining parasitology, quantitative imaging and advanced biophysical techniques.
We warmly welcome Louise to LAI and look forward to the scientific collaborations ahead!
Olivier Theodoly presented the results of the IMMUNOCHIP project, selected for funding through the 2024 Cancéropôle Maturation call. The project sought to demonstrate the technological feasibility of novel diagnostic microdevices designed to guide cancer immunotherapy through the functional profiling of immune cells. Prototype tests were developed and evaluated to assess the activation and functional responses of T cells, CAR-T cells and NK cells.
We are pleased to share that members of the LAI took part in the European South Atlantic Biophysics Conference 2026, held from 17 to 19 June 2026 in Montpellier.
Arnauld Sergé presented a poster entitled “Nanodynamics and blockade of RANK/RANKL interactions between leukemic and thymic epithelial cells”, a collaborative work with Loriane Maillot, Martine Biarnes-Pelicot, Magali Irla.
Pierre-Henri Puech was invited as a speaker and gave a talk entitled “Some aspects of T cells mechanobiology”.
Many thanks to the organisers for a stimulating meeting.
We are pleased to share that Arnauld Serge, from our lab, led a project at the 2026 CENTURI Hackathon, held from 5 to 7 June at the Villages Clubs du Soleil in La Belle de Mai, Marseille, an event dedicated to coding, engineering, and idea-sharing at the interface of computer science and the life sciences. Together with Magali Irla, Arnauld proposed and led Thymo3D: mapping thymic architecture to decode immune health, which set out to reconstruct the mouse thymus in three dimensions and quantify how its structural organisation relates to immune health and disease. This year’s edition brought together 36 participants across six interdisciplinary projects. Many thanks to Philippe Roudot, Léo Guignard, and the CENTURI team for organising such a stimulating event.
Olivier Theodoly presented the MOHICAN, laureate of the PEPR MED-OOC call 2025. The MOHICAN project aims to develop new medical devices enabling functional testing of patient immune cells as part of routine hospital practice. These innovative devices will integrate microfluidic components coupled with microprinted molecular patterns to recreate structures that mimic secondary and tertiary lymph. The MOHICAN consortium brings together leading biophysics teams (LAI – Marseille and IINS – Bordeaux), clinical partners from AP-HM and IPC, as well as the TAGC genomics laboratory.
We are pleased to share that members of the LAI attended the GdR AQV Days 2026, the annual meeting of the CNRS GdR “Approches Quantitatives du Vivant”, held in Aussois from May 11 to 13, 2026.
The meeting offered a valuable opportunity to follow current work in the quantitative approaches to living systems community, exchange ideas, and discuss shared research questions with colleagues from different backgrounds.
Pierre-Henri Puech, Marie Dessard, and Jana El Husseiny took part in the conference. Jana also presented her PhD work in a selected talk, contributing to the scientific discussions during the meeting. Pierre-Henri was also involved in the organisation of the event.
Many thanks to the organisers and participants for making this a stimulating and enjoyable meeting.
You must be logged in to post a comment.