IEA

Fellowship from May to June 2011

Research project:

"A life within ourselves: an ecological vision of the body"

"In Neither God nor Gene" (Seuil, 2000), the organism is no more presented as a centralized robot, controlled by its genetic program. It is a decentralized society composed of individuals endowed with freedom: our cells. Each cell forms itself a decentralized society composed of very particular individuals: the molecules. In these societies interlocked at different scales, the laws of life are similar to those of ecology or economy. We will exploit this parallel and show how socio-economico-ecological laws apply to our domestic biology and allow us to approach from a new angle the most common (and difficult) questions of biology." 

Biographical elements:

Graduated from Ecole Normale Supérieure, he holds a MD and a PhD in Biochemistry. He was Director of Research at INSERM, and worked at the Pasteur Institute from 1981 to 1990. Specialized in molecular biology and virology, he works since 1983 on HIV/Aids. In 1985, he participated in the decoding of the full sequence of HIV virus. From 1990 to 2005, he is the head of the laboratory of "Viral Genetics" at the Cochin Institute in Paris. He is currently executive director at Bio Intelligence service conducting research about health and environnement.
In the context of Nantes Institute for Advanced Studies, Pierre Sonigo shares with Augustin Emane the responsibility of the axis of health.