Cellectis, the French genome engineering specialist, is announcing the operational withdrawal of Frédéric Pâques, who has joined the Group's Scientific Advisory Board, as well as three appointments in its Scientific Division: Jean-Charles Epinat as Chief Technology Officer, Philippe Duchâteau as Chief Scientific Officer, and Frédéric Cédrone as Platform Director. Alongside this, Luc Mathis has been appointed CEO of Cellectis Plant Sciences, a Cellectis subsidiary.
Jean-Charles Epinat has been appointed as Cellectis' Chief Technology Officer, joining the Company's executive committee. With a PhD in science, he carried out his postdoctoral fellowship at Boston University (Massachusetts, USA), before moving to the Institut Pasteur. After joining Cellectis in 2000, he was appointed to head up the Group's technical platform in 2005. His achievements include the development of selection and screening methods for the activity of meganucleases in yeast that are still applied today.
Philippe Duchateau has been appointed Chief Scientific Officer. With a PhD in science, Philippe Duchateau joined Cellectis in 2001 after nine years with the University of California's Cardiovascular Research Institute(San Francisco, USA). Since 2004, he was in charge of Cellectis' research department. He is taking over from Frédéric Pâques, who the Group pays tribute to for the work accomplished in this position since 2002.
Frédéric Pâques, who graduated from École Normale Supérieure de Paris and has a PhD in science, began his career at Brandeis University (Massachusetts, USA), before joining the CNRS' (Paris) Institut Jacques Monod in 1999. Appointed as Cellectis' Chief Scientific Officer in 2002, Frédéric Pâques has been behind the design and deployment of the mass screening tools which have made a key contribution towards Cellectis' scientific success. His work has been recognized in 40 scientific journals with review boards. Frédéric Pâques is joining Cellectis' Scientific Advisory Board shortly, taking on extensive responsibilities.
Lastly, Luc Mathis is being appointed CEO of Cellectis Plant Sciences, Cellectis' American subsidiary, specialized in developing genome engineering solutions for agribusiness. With a PhD in science, he began his career with the Institut Pasteur (2001-2005), before joining Cellectis in 2006. He had previously taken on more and more extensive responsibilities as the business - now Cellectis Plant Sciences - grew, becoming head of development.