Marie DUCROUX is a third-year PhD student. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Sciences de la vie at Cergy Paris Université before going on to complete a Master’s degree in Biologie cellulaire et moléculaire du microenvironnement (BioC2M) at the same university.
Her PhD research focuses on studying the impact of cytokine factors on the polarisation of B cells in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. The research project aims to understand how molecules present in the leukaemic microenvironment contribute to the polarisation of cancerous B lymphocytes from effector to regulatory cells. The influence of these factors on the polarisation of leukaemic B cells is assessed by analysing changes in their signalling pathways through the study of extracellular and intracellular markers. Work carried out on primary cell samples from patients with CLL enables the identification of the factors involved in the polarisation of leukaemic B cells and improves anti-tumour recognition in order to slow the progression of the disease.