Award
PhD Thesis Prize SBCF 2019: Gautier FOLLAIN
Each year, the SBCF awards a yearly PhD thesis prize of 1500 €, to reward outstanding work contributing to a significant advance in the field of cell biology.
This year, the SBCF PhD thesis prize was awarded to Gautier FOLLAIN for his work on the dissemination of of circulating tumor cells. His work shows that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood of cancer patients are responsible for the formation of metastases in vital organs. He studied the role of biomechanical factors on the dissemination of CTCs. He published his work, in particular in Cell Reports, 2019 (10.1016/j.celrep.2019.07.102) and in Dev Cell. 2018 (10.1016/j.devcel.2018.02.015).
- Gautier FOLLAIN did his thesis in the laboratory “Tumor Biomechanics” under the direction of Dr. Jacky GOETZ (SBCF Young Researcher Prize 2012) at the Institut d’Hématologie et d’Immunologie, INSERM U1109 à Strasbourg.
SBCF wishes him all the best for the continuation of his career.
Abstract of Gautier FOLLAIN’s PhD thesis
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood of cancer patients are responsible for the formation of metastases in vital organs. We have studied the role of biomechanical factors (blood flow, strength of adhesion receptors and physical constraints) on the dissemination of CTCs. We were able to demonstrate the central role of the forces of blood flow in the stages of arrest, adhesion and extravasation that precede the formation of metastases. 1. We highlighted the two-step adhesion process of CTCs in vivo. 2. We dissected a mechanism of extravasation by endothelial remodeling dependent on the blood flow and we highlighted the possibility of blocking it.
