Sandrine SARRAZIN

About

After completing a thesis at the Centre for Molecular and Cellular Genetics (Lyon I) on the transcription factor Fli-1, involved in erythroleukemia, Sandrine Sarrazin joined the CIML in 2001 for a post-doctoral position in Michael Sieweke's team. There, she studied the role of transcription factors, particularly MafB, in the differentiation of myelomonocytic cells.
In 2006, she joined Inserm and continued her work in the Sieweke team at CIML. In 2009, she demonstrated that MafB limits the commitment of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) to the myeloid pathway under the influence of M-CSF, revealing that their fate is not purely stochastic but influenced by external signals. His work paves the way for medical applications of M-CSF. More recently, she shows that HSCs directly detect pathogens via the CD150 receptor and develop a immune memory thanks to chromatin modifications, purely immune functions previously unsuspected for HSCs. In parallel with her work on HSCs, she contributes to the major discoveries of the Sieweke lab on macrophages et leur potentiel en médecine regénérative.

Her research group Hematopoiesis and Inflammation now integrated into the Lawrence team, investigates:
– Immune functions of hematopoietic stem cells such as commitment to the myeloid lineage, pathogen detection, and the establishment and maintenance of immune memory
– Self-renewal and reprogramming of macrophages, as well as their role in inflammation, tissue regeneration and cancer.

International: Sandrine has collaborated for more than 15 years with German research teams at the MDC in Berlin and at the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD), where she has been a visiting researcher since 2018. Since 2023, she has coordinated a CNRS IRP au CIML, renforçant encore les liens franco-allemands.
External institutional missions:
Very involved in the scientific mediationshe founded the Club Immuno in 2013 to promote scientific outreach among non-scientific CIML staff and regularly contributes to media discussions to inform the public on topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination. A member of the Inserm “Cellule Riposte” since 2021, she supports journalists in interpreting scientific information and contributed to the Inserm Charter on public scientific communication.
Internal institutional responsibilities:
Scientific Head of the Cytometry Platform (2014–2023)
Member of the laboratory council (2 years as postdoctoral representative, then 4 years as researcher representative, including coordination from 2009 to 2011)
Member of the website working group
Expertise: Hematopoietic development, stem cells, macrophages, innate immunity, immune memory, cancer, transcription factors, epigenetics, transcriptomics, flow cytometry, genome editing, science communication.

Recipient of several excellence awards, Sandrine has also been a Knight (Chevalier) of the French National Order of Merit since 2021.