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Edith Heard

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Edith Heard
FRS MAE
Born (1965-03-05) 5 March 1965 (age 59)[1]
NationalityBritish, French
Alma mater
SpouseVincent Colot
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisAnalysis of a gene amplification event in rat cells (1990)
Doctoral advisorMike Fried
Websitewww.college-de-france.fr/site/en-edith-heard/ Edit this at Wikidata

Edith Heard (born 1965)[1] FRS MAE[2] is a British-French researcher in epigenetics who has been serving as the Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) since January 2019.[3][4] She is also Professor at the Collège de France, holding the Chair of Epigenetics and Cellular Memory. In 2025 she will become CEO of the Francis Crick Institute in London, U.K.

From 2010 to 2018, Heard was the Director of the Genetics and Developmental Biology department at the Curie Institute (Paris), France. Heard is noted for her studies of X-chromosome-inactivation.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

Education

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Heard graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Sciences (Genetics) from the University of Cambridge as a student of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, graduating in 1986. She was awarded a PhD from Imperial College London[11] for research investigating gene amplification in rat cells in 1990 while working at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratory in London, UK.[1]

Career and research

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Heard's main areas of research include genetics, epigenetics and developmental biology,[3][12] in particular focussing on X-chromosome inactivation, which occurs when one of the two copies of the X chromosomes in female mammals is inactivated. Her work on this process started in the 1990’s during her post-doc in the laboratory of Philip Avner at the Pasteur Institute. After joining the CNRS, she continued to work on X inactivation, performing functional studies on the X-inactivation centre locus that regulates the initiation of X inactivation.[13][14] In 2000, Heard spent a year as a visiting scientist in David Spector’s group at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory[15] where she discovered some of the early chromatin changes in the X-inactivation process.[10]

Heard set up her own laboratory at the Institut Curie in 2001. Amongst her contributions, her group showed that X-chromosome inactivation happens not once, but twice, during development: first in all cells designated to building the placenta, then again in some cells sent off to build the embryo.[16][17][18]

Heard developed powerful single-cell techniques enabling the analysis of fixed and living embryos and embryonic stem cells. These led to one of her major discoveries, showing that X-inactivation is a highly dynamic process during early embryogenesis and revealing major differences in X-inactivation strategies in different mammals, from mouse to man. Heard has also performed pioneering work revealing that in addition to epigenetic modifications, chromosome organization and nuclear compartmentalization are important players in the initiation and maintenance of X inactivation.[2][19] Thanks to their studies on the X-inactivation centre, the Heard group also revealed the existence of Topologically Associating Domains (TADs) in collaboration with Job Dekker.[20]

Heard has been a professor at the Collège de France, holding the Chair of Epigenetics and Cellular Memory, and from 2010 to 2018 she was director of the Genetics and Developmental Biology department at the Institut Curie in Paris.[21] She and her laboratory moved to EMBL in 2019. In 2016, Heard was involved in establishing a Government of France programme to support scientists displaced by war or conflict – the Programme d'aide à l'accueil en urgence des scientifiques en exil (PAUSE).[22]

In June 2017, Heard's appointment as the fifth Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory was announced, and she took office in January 2019.[5] She has served as a member of the science council of the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2021.[23]

Other activities

[edit]

Heard is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the French National Centre for Scientific Research,[24] the Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (Copenhagen, Denmark),[25] the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Crete, Greece)[26] and the Francis Crick Institute.[27]

In 2023, Heard chaired the selection committee that chose Yasmine Belkaid to succeed Stewart Cole as director of the Institut Pasteur.[28]

Awards and honours

[edit]

In 2017, Heard was awarded the Inserm Grand Prix for her work on epigenetics.[29] In 2013, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in recognition for her discoveries in epigenetics.[2] Her nomination reads:

Heard has made several groundbreaking discoveries in epigenetics, through her studies on X-chromosome inactivation, the process of dosage compensation in mammals. Heard developed powerful single-cell techniques enabling the analysis of fixed and living embryos and embryonic stem cells. These led to one of her major discoveries, showing that X-inactivation is a highly dynamic process during early embryogenesis and revealing major differences in X-inactivation strategies in different mammals, from mouse to man. Heard has also performed pioneering work revealing that in addition to epigenetic modifications, chromosome organization and nuclear compartmentalization are important players in the initiation and maintenance of X inactivation.[2]

In 2011, Heard received the Grand Prix de la Fondation pour la recherche médicale. In 2009, she received the Prix Jean Hamburger. In 2005, Heard was a laureate of the FSER award.[30] Heard has been an EMBO Member since 2005 and won the Suffrage Science award in 2012.[31] She received the European Society for Human Genetics Award in 2017 [32] and the Hansen Family Award in 2019.[33]

In 2020, she was awarded the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards[34] and in April 2021 was appointed a member of the World Health Organization Science Council,[35] and also elected as a foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences.[36] In 2021 she was elected to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.[37] In October 2021, she was elected as an International Member of the National Academy of Medicine.[38] In May 2022, she was appointed a Member of the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters.[39] In July 2022, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences announced Heard's appointment as a member.[40] In December 2022, Heard was elected to the French Academy of Sciences under the section ‘Human Biology and Medical Sciences’ for her work on epigenetics, particularly in deciphering the process of X-chromosome inactivation. [41] On December 12, 2024 she received the CNRS Gold Medal.[42]

Heard has been chosen as the 2025 recipient of The Croonian Medal and Lecture for being a leading figure in X-chromosome biology.[43]

Personal life

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Heard is married to French molecular biologist Vincent Colot. They have two children.[44]

Scholia has a profile for Edith Heard (Q15994420).

References

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  1. ^ a b c Anon (2017). "Heard, Prof. Edith". Who's Who (online Oxford University Press ed.). Oxford: A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U265104. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ a b c d Anon (2013). "Professor Edith Heard FRS". royalsociety.org. London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:

    “All text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.” --"Royal Society Terms, conditions and policies". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ a b Edith Heard publications indexed by Google Scholar Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ^ Edith Heard publications from Europe PubMed Central
  5. ^ a b Noyes, Dan (28 June 2017). "EMBL Council selects next Director General". EMBL etc. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017.
  6. ^ Edith Heard publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
  7. ^ Narita, M.; Nuñez, S.; Heard, E.; Narita, M.; Lin, A. W.; Hearn, S. A.; Spector, D. L.; Hannon, G. J.; Lowe, S. W. (2003). "Rb-Mediated Heterochromatin Formation and Silencing of E2F Target Genes during Cellular Senescence". Cell. 113 (6): 703–16. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(03)00401-X. PMID 12809602. S2CID 762586.
  8. ^ Avner, P.; Heard, E. (2001). "X-chromosome inactivation: Counting, choice and initiation". Nature Reviews Genetics. 2 (1): 59–67. doi:10.1038/35047580. PMID 11253071. S2CID 5234164. Closed access icon
  9. ^ Heard, E.; Clerc, P.; Avner, P. (1997). "X-Chromosome Inactivation in Mammals". Annual Review of Genetics. 31: 571–610. doi:10.1146/annurev.genet.31.1.571. PMID 9442908.
  10. ^ a b Heard, E.; Rougeulle, C.; Arnaud, D.; Avner, P.; Allis, C. D.; Spector, D. L. (2001). "Methylation of Histone H3 at Lys-9 is an Early Mark on the X Chromosome during X Inactivation". Cell. 107 (6): 727–738. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(01)00598-0. PMID 11747809. S2CID 10124177.
  11. ^ Heard, Edith (1990). Analysis of a gene amplification event in rat cells. imperial.ac.uk (PhD). Imperial College London. hdl:10044/1/46336. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.717879. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017. Free access icon
  12. ^ "Edith Heard". The Academy of Europe. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  13. ^ Heard, Edith; Mongelard, Fabien; Arnaud, Danielle; Avner, Philip (April 1999). "Xist Yeast Artificial Chromosome Transgenes Function as X-Inactivation Centers Only in Multicopy Arrays and Not as Single Copies". Molecular and Cellular Biology. 19 (4): 3156–3166. doi:10.1128/mcb.19.4.3156. ISSN 0270-7306. PMC 84109. PMID 10082582.
  14. ^ Heard, E (1 April 1996). "Transgenic mice carrying an Xist-containing YAC". Human Molecular Genetics. 5 (4): 441–450. doi:10.1093/hmg/5.4.441. ISSN 1460-2083. PMID 8845836.
  15. ^ EMBL. "Director General". embl.org. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  16. ^ Okamoto, I. (30 January 2004). "Epigenetic Dynamics of Imprinted X Inactivation During Early Mouse Development". Science. 303 (5658): 644–649. Bibcode:2004Sci...303..644O. doi:10.1126/science.1092727. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 14671313. S2CID 26326026.
  17. ^ Heard, Edith (2013). "We can't undo what our parents have given us in terms of our genes'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016.
  18. ^ Chow, J.; Heard, E. (2009). "X inactivation and the complexities of silencing a sex chromosome". Current Opinion in Cell Biology. 21 (3): 359–366. doi:10.1016/j.ceb.2009.04.012. PMID 19477626.
  19. ^ Okamoto, Ikuhiro; Patrat, Catherine; Thépot, Dominique; Peynot, Nathalie; Fauque, Patricia; Daniel, Nathalie; Diabangouaya, Patricia; Wolf, Jean-Philippe; Renard, Jean-Paul; Duranthon, Véronique; Heard, Edith (6 April 2011). "Eutherian mammals use diverse strategies to initiate X-chromosome inactivation during development". Nature. 472 (7343): 370–374. Bibcode:2011Natur.472..370O. doi:10.1038/nature09872. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 21471966. S2CID 121019.
  20. ^ Nora, Elphège P.; Lajoie, Bryan R.; Schulz, Edda G.; Giorgetti, Luca; Okamoto, Ikuhiro; Servant, Nicolas; Piolot, Tristan; van Berkum, Nynke L.; Meisig, Johannes; Sedat, John; Gribnau, Joost (11 April 2012). "Spatial partitioning of the regulatory landscape of the X-inactivation centre". Nature. 485 (7398): 381–385. Bibcode:2012Natur.485..381N. doi:10.1038/nature11049. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-0027-A22B-B. ISSN 0028-0836. PMC 3555144. PMID 22495304.
  21. ^ "Group page at Institut Curie". Archived from the original on 23 August 2013.
  22. ^ "Lancement du Programme d'aide à l'accueil en urgence des scientifiques en exil (PAUSE)". Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  23. ^ Science Council Archived 2021-10-24 at the Wayback Machine World Health Organization (WHO).
  24. ^ "Comité National de la Recherche Scientifique". cnrs.fr. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  25. ^ "Organization". bric.ku.dk. 11 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  26. ^ "SAC-IMBB". Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Scientific Advisory Board". crick.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  28. ^ Professor Yasmine Belkaid appointed Institut Pasteur President Institut Pasteur, press release of 31 March 2023.
  29. ^ "Edith Heard, Specialist in Epigenetics, Awarded the 2017 Inserm Grand Prize". Newsroom | Inserm. 13 November 2017. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  30. ^ "Cercle FSER". Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  31. ^ "Women In Science". lms.mrc.ac.uk. LMS London Institute of Medical Sciences. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  32. ^ "European Society of Human Genetics: ESHG Award Laureates". eshg.org. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  33. ^ "Science". Bayer Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  34. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  35. ^ "EMBL Director General elected to US National Academy of Sciences". 27 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  36. ^ "2021 NAS Election". nasonline.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  37. ^ "Edith Heard elected to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina". 12 August 2021. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  38. ^ "National Academy of Medicine Elects 100 New Members". 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  39. ^ "NYE MEDLEMMER I VIDENSKABERNES SELSKAB". 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  40. ^ "Edith Heard".
  41. ^ "Edith Heard elected to French Academy of Sciences". 19 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  42. ^ "Edith Heard, passion épigénétique".
  43. ^ "Croonian Medal and Lecture | Royal Society". royalsociety.org. 29 November 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  44. ^ "Professor Edith Heard | Med Sci Life". Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
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