Sandrine Belouzard
CNRS research director (DR2)

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TRAINING

  • 2016: HDR-habilitation to conduct research, University of Lille, 2016
  • 2004: PhD in cell biology. University of Lille.

POSITIONS HELD

  • 2026 - Research director (DR2 CNRS).

Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille.
Leader of the team “Molecular and Cellular Virology”

  • 2024-25: Research director (DR2 CNRS).

Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille.
Leader of the group “Molecular and Cellular Virology of Coronaviruses”

  • 2014-24; Researcher, CNRS

Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille.
Leader of the group “Molecular and Cellular Virology of Coronaviruses”

  • 2009-14: Researcher, CNRS

Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille.
Research project on hepatitis C virus host-cell interactions

  • 2006-09: Post-doctorate. Cornell University, Ithaca, US

Research project : coronaviruses host-cell interaction at the entry step.
PI : Gary Whittaker

  • 2004-06: Post-doctorate. Lille.

Research project : leptin receptors endocytosis.
PI: Yves Rouillé

DISTINCTIONS / RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Member of the steering committee of the ARIADNE screening platform (since 2022)
  • Board member of the coordinated action diagnostic, therapeutic and vaccine viral targets of the ANRS-MIE

COMPETENCES / EXPERTISE

Sandrine Belouzard is a virologist specializing in the molecular mechanisms of viral entry and assembly. She earned her PhD in cell biology from the University of Lille, where she investigated the intracellular trafficking of leptin receptors, uncovering key insights into their cell surface expression dynamics.

Following her doctoral studies, Sandrine Belouzard joined the laboratory of Prof. Gary Whittaker at Cornell University as a postdoctoral fellow. There, she focused on the entry mechanisms of SARS-CoV-1, identifying the critical cleavage at the S2' site in the spike protein, a key step required for the activation of membrane fusion with the host cell.

In 2009, she was recruited as a permanent research scientist at CNRS, where she initially developed projects on the hepatitis C virus (HCV). With the emergence of MERS-CoV, she seized the opportunity to refocus her research on coronaviruses, particularly their assembly mechanisms—a critical yet poorly understood stage of the viral life cycle.

The COVID-19 pandemic further motivated her to expand her research into antiviral discovery, leveraging high-throughput screening to identify compounds that disrupt viral propagation.