Taleb Team.

 

Our Team

Soraya Taleb
PhD, HDR

During my PhD, I have studied the obesity and its complications under the supervision of Prof Karine Clément and then joined Ziad Mallat’s team in 2006 to study the immune-inflammatory response (including STAT3 and IL-17 pathway) in cardiovascular diseases such as aneurysm and atherosclerosis. In 2010, I was recruited at the Inserm as Senior Research Associate through a highly competitive national application. Since these 5 last years, I have established my own team working on a new and independent research area aiming to study the impact of the metabolism and MetS on atherosclerosis development. Particularly, I focused on tryptophan metabolism, inflammation and microbiota in obesity (Nat Med 2018), a work conducted by my current PhD student, Ludivine Laurans and atherosclerosis. I already supervised 2 PhD students (Yacine Haddad and Sarvenaz Metghalchi} who published as first authors in high impact journals such as Cell Metabolism 2015  and Circulation Research 2017. I obtained several fundings that allowed me to initiate or to finish several projects that are currently either published or advanced in the publication process (role of IDO in myocardial infarction, study conducted by my PhD student Nadajoe Melhem). My team currently includes one INSERM researcher (Soraya Taleb), one senior laboratory technician (Mouna Chajadine), two PhD students (Nadajoe Melhem and Ludivine Laurans) and one post Doc (Jean-François Bourzac). My Host institution, the Paris Cardiovascular Research Center (PARCC), is built upon the substantial strengths and excellence in basic, translational and clinical cardiovascular research of 14 teams. Today the research of my team is funded by French national start-up award for junior group leader (ANR JCJC) which I have obtained in 2016 and a grant of French Fondation (Fondation de France). I also hold a habilitation degree (HDR) from University Paris Descartes (2016) and currently I am involved in scientific mentoring programs at PARCC and different French universities.

Ludivine Laurans
Ph D Student

I have been an Inserm engineering assistant since 2009. I started a thesis in Soraya Taleb's team in September 2017. During the first year of my thesis I worked on the involvement of the enzyme Ido (indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase) on the development of the metabolic syndrome via the gut microbiota. This project was published in the journal Nature Medicine in August 2018 (DOI:10.1038/s41591-018-0060-4) and as a news in the journal Médecine/Sciences (DOI:10.1051/medsci/20183408010).
I am now studying the crosstalks between metabolic syndrome/atherosclerosis and gut microbiota. In particular, I am interested by the identification and the study of metabolites jointly involved in the development of the metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis.

 Jean-François Bourzac
Post Doc

I obtained my Ph.D. in cell biology at University of Sherbrooke (QC, Canada). In Pr. F-P Gendron's laboratory, I deciphered a part of the ionotropic receptor P2X7R pathway involved in the control of the facilitated glucose transport GLUT2’s expression at the membrane of intestinal epithelium cells. I also studied in a p2rx7 -/- mouse model, the consequences of the loss of this receptor in the intestine and on the metabolism. •In Dr. Taleb’s team, I am now working as Post-Doc on the consequences of the defect of the intestinal barrier integrity in the development of atherosclerosis.

Nada Joe Melhem
Ph D Student

In 2016, I obtained my MSc degree in cellular and molecular transduction and pathophysiology at university of Angers. During my Master 2 training, I studied the role of nuclear versus membrane estrogen receptor (ER)α in arterial protection : implications for ERα modulation in cardiovascular prevention/safety. In October 2016, I joined the paris-cardiovascular research center (PARCC). I started my PhD project entitled: “the direct role of Indoleamine 2, 3-DiOxygenase (IDO) in Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI)” under the mentorship of Dr. Soraya TALEB. During my PhD, I got GRRC fellowship for 2 months training in Montpellier to learn how to isolate cardiomyocytes and study calcium transient and contractility. I also had the opportunity to present my thesis work during the Printemps de la Cardiologie 2018 congress in Montpellier and the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. I won poster prizes in addition to the Young investigator Fellowship to assist to EAS 2018 congress.

Mouna Chajadine
Senior Laboratory Technician

I have joined the team of Dr. TALEB Soraya during my final internship for my Master 2 in 2017, I worked on the role of the Indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO) on metabolic diseases. After my internship, I continue working under the direction of Dr. TALEB Soraya as an assistant engineer on the relationships between obesity and vascular diseases including atherosclerosis.

Dima Kharrat
​​Master 2 Student

After graduating in life sciences at the Lebanese University, I did my master 1 in microbiology at the Paris Diderot university. I am currently in my second year of a master's in Structural and Functional Proteomics at UPMC and I am doing my MSc internship on the use of metabolomics research in obesity and atherosclerosis at PARCC laboratory since January 2019 under the direction of Mrs. Soraya Taleb.

Former PhD Students

Sarvenaz Metghalchi
Yacine Haddad