Denis Lesage
Associate Professor
After completing a Master’s degree (MSc) in fundamental virology at the Institut Pasteur, with a focus on the molecular epidemiology of HIV (Bichat Hospital), Denis pursued a PhD centered on non-viral vectorization using cationic liposomes, applied to the delivery of decoy oligonucleotides for therapeutic purposes. This work enabled him to specialize in cellular signaling pathways, particularly NF-κB and STAT1. He subsequently conducted a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Caen, where he investigated cyclin D1 across various hematological malignancy models, including mantle cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Since 2007, Denis has been an Associate Professor in molecular biochemistry and biochemistry at Sorbonne Paris Nord University (formerly Paris XIII University). Over the years, he has developed an expertise in the dysregulation of cellular signaling pathways involved in tumor initiation and progression. Within these pathological processes, as well as their physiological counterparts, he has a particular interest in transcription factors such as STAT3, NF-κB, NFAT, and FoxP3. His research also focuses on strategies for inhibiting these transcription factors and on the characterization of their protein interaction partners. He has consistently supervised students from Master’s level (M1) through to PhD. Within unit U1349, his research is primarily centered on the hematopoietic system, with a specific focus on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), while also maintaining the possibility of extending his work to other tissues or solid tumors. More recently, Denis has expanded his skill set by completing a university diploma entitled “Creation, Analysis and Valorization of Omics Biological Data” (class of 2025).
In terms of teaching, Denis contributes to courses ranging from first-year undergraduate (L1) to Master’s level (M2), primarily within Life Sciences and Medicine tracks (including health studies access programs). His teaching fields include biochemistry, molecular biology, vectorization and biological techniques, as well as professional integration before and after scientific Master’s programs.
Since 2018, Denis has been the head of the second year of the Master’s program Thérapies et Technologies du Vivant (TTV), the only Master’s program in the “Biology and Health” domain entirely delivered on the SMBH campus in Bobigny, with strong interactions with INSERM research units both on-site and externally. Some courses are shared with other scientific Master’s programs, particularly those of Université Paris Cité, as well as with the Master’s program in Inflammation and Inflammatory Diseases (IMI).