Christopher THOMAS

Dr. Christopher Thomas is a reproductive biologist and research group leader at the Developmental Biology Institute of Marseille (IBDM), France. He completed his PhD in the group of Dr. Suzanne Madgwick at the Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, University of Newcastle, UK. His research focused on oocytes, the precursors to egg cells in the ovary. His findings redefined our understanding of cell cycle regulation during oocyte meiosis and revealed how oocytes repurpose key pathways to adapt to this highly specialised cell division. In 2018, Dr. Thomas joined the laboratory of Dr. Melina Schuh at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen, Germany, as a postdoctoral researcher. Shifting from studying single cells to a tissue-scale perspective, he set out with the challenge of live-imaging mammalian ovulation. With colleagues, he developed a groundbreaking model system that, for the first time, enabled us to visualise the entire process of ovulation in mouse ovarian follicles at cellular resolution and to describe its underlying mechanisms—a landmark achievement in reproductive biology. In 2024, Dr. Thomas established his independent research group at IBDM, Marseille. His team uses live-cell imaging and follicle culture techniques to investigate how ovarian follicles compete for the capacity to ovulate and how oocyte–follicle cell communication ensures the proper coordination of ovulation and meiosis. His pioneering approach brings ovarian biology into the modern era, tackling fundamental biological questions with significant clinical implications that, until now, we lacked the technology to address.