Research on Mycobacteria and Bortella
Nathalie MIELCAREK
INSERM research director
Nathalie's ORCID
Nathalie's Contact
Our projects focus on two prominent families of bacterial respiratory pathogens: Mycobacterium and Bordetella.
Today, respiratory infections—many caused by pathogenic bacteria—rank among the world's most lethal threats. Tuberculosis alone is responsible for approximately 1.6 million deaths annually, and the global spread of multidrug-resistant TB poses a major therapeutic challenge. Pertussis (whooping-cough) is an endemic disease worldwide, despite high vaccination coverage. After limited circulation during the COVID-19 pandemic, pertussis is experiencing a dramatic global resurgence since 2023, with infants under 6 months of age being the group most at risk of severe disease and death.
The choice to study M. tuberculosis and B. pertussis in parallel is driven by their shared ability to infect the human respiratory tract, yet their remarkably different strategies make them compelling subjects for comparison.
The team's objectives are (i) to investigate the molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity in the B. pertussis and M. tuberculosis pathogen families, (ii) to analyze the genome evolution of M. tuberculosis, and to study the genetic regulation of both pathogens, and (iii) to apply this knowledge in developing innovative vaccines, therapeutics, and molecular diagnostics to combat these deadly diseases.
This continuum, from the ongoing acquisition of fundamental knowledge to the development of clinical applications, is driven by collaborations with key national and international academic partners, as well as expert industrial partners who play a critical role in advancing the clinical development of our discoveries.
Current Staff
Rudy Antoine
CNRS researcher (CRCN)
ORCID
Contact
Learn more about Rudy
BAULARD Alain
INSERM research director(DR2)
ORCID
Contact
Learn more about Alain
CAMUS Guillaume
PhD Student
Contact
Learn more about Guillaume
CAUCHI Stéphane
CNRS researcher (CRCN)
ORCID
Contact
COUTTE Loïc
INSERM researcher (CRCN)
ORCID
Contact
Learn more about Loïc
DEBRIE Anne-Sophie
IPL engineer (IE)
Contact
Learn more about Anne-Sophie
EDOO Zainab
PostDoc
ORCID
Contact
Learn more about Zainab
GHARBI Rim
PostDoc
Contact
Learn more about Rim
GROSSE Camille
PostDoc
ORCID
Contact
HACHMI Majda
PhD Student
ORCID
Contact
JACOB-DUBUISSON Françoise
CNRS research director(DR1)
ORCID
Contact
KUCHARSKI Baptiste
Engineer (IE CDD)
ORCID
Contact
LECHER Sophie
AR IPL
ORCID
Contact
LEPREVOST Laura
PhD Student
ORCID
Contact
LOCHT Camille
INSERM research director (DRE)
ORCID
Contact
MIELCAREK Nathalie
INSERM research director(DR2)
ORCID
Contact
OSMANI Dacine
PhD Student
ORCID
Contact
RIVIERE Oriane
PhD Student
ORCID
Contact
ROUANET Carine
IPL researcher (CR)
ORCID
Contact
RUIS SANTOS Kamila
PostDoc
ORCID
Contact
SANTIESTEBAN Elena
PostDoc
ORCID
Contact
SLUPEK Stéphanie
AR IPL
ORCID
Contact
SUPPLY Philip
INSERM research director (DRE)
ORCID
Contact
TARDY Morgane
Assistant engineer (AI)
ORCID
Contact
VEYRON-CHURLET Romain
CNRS researcher (CRCN)
ORCID
Contact
Al Ashkar Salam (2016-2019), Université de Lille II
Fellowship: Association AZM and Saadeh
Title: Prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis assessed by next-generation sequencing: an 18-month nationwide study in Lebanon
Supervisor: P. Supply
Current employment: Application and communication scientist specialist, LABPLAS, Montreal, Canada
Baud Catherine (France), from 2010 to 2014
Financial support: ANR grant DYN FHAC
Belcher Thomas (UK), from 2017 to 2020
Financial supports: CPER CTRL IPL
Dubois Violaine (France), from 2019-2022
Financial supports: EU grant Periscope and ILiAD
Dupré Elian (France), from 2013 to 2016
Financial support: ANR grant MECA VENUS
Dupré Elian (2009-2013), Université de Lille II
Fellowship: French Research Ministry for 3 years and FRM for the 4th
Title: Virulence regulation in Bordetella pertussis : BvgS, an original model for a two-component system receptor
Supervisor: F. Jacob-Dubuisson
Current employment: post-doctoral fellow, University of Lille 1
Frita Rosangela-Maria (Portugal), from 2015 to 2021
Financial supports: Bioversys
Guérin Jérémy (2011-2014), Université de Lille II
Fellowship: Institut Pasteur of Lille/ Région Nord-Pas de Calais.
Title: Conformationnal dynamics of FhaC, the transporter across the outer membrane of the filamentous hemaggutinin in Bordetella pertussis
Supervisor: F. Jacob-Dubuisson
Current employment: post-doctoral fellow, NIH, USA
Guerin Jeremy (France), 2015
Financial support: ANR grant DYN FHAC
Iantomasi Raphaella 2015-2016
Financial support: Lille European Metropolitan (MEL)
Kammoun Hannah (Tunisia), oct. 2012 to Dec. 2013
Financial support: FP7 NewTBVac
Lesne Elodie (2013-2016), Université de Lille II
Fellowship: INSERM/ Région Nord-Pas de Calais.
Title: Virulence regulation by the whooping cough agent Bordetella pertussis : signaling by the sensor-kinase BvgS
Supervisor: F. Jacob-Dubuisson
Current employment: scientist at Public Health England, Porton Down, Salisbury, UK
Moune Martin (Cameroon/France), from 2014 to 2017
Financial supports: PRIM (2014-2016) and GSK-Bioversys industrial partnership (2016-2018)
Prieri Marion (2015-2018), Université de Lille
Fellowship: Institut Pasteur de Lille/ Région Haut de France
Title: Reprogramming the anti-TB pro-drugs: design, development and biological evaluation of inhibitors of transcriptional regulators
Co-SupervisorS: Alain Baulard / Nicolas Willand
Current employment: Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Rivera Alex (2016-2020), Université de Lille
Fellowship: University of Lille/Region Hauts de France
Title: Copper homeostasis in Bordetella pertussis and its relationship with virulence
Supervisor: F. Jacob-Dubuisson and Rudy Antoine
Current employment: post-doctoral fellow, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique | INRS · Institute Armand-Frappier, Québec
Roy Gauthier (2018-2022) Université de Lille
Fellowship: Université de Lille
Title: Characterization of a new copper transport system in B; pertussis: mode of action and regulation
Supervisor: F. Jacob-Dubuisson and Rudy Antoine
Thiriard Anaïs (2016-2019), Université de Lille
Fellowship: Institut Pasteur de Lille
Title : Study on the functionality of anti-pertussis antibodies
Supervisor: Camille Locht
Current employment: post-doctoral fellow, University of Lille 1
Solans Luis (Spain), from 2015 to January 31st, 2018
Financial supports: ILIAD Biotechnologies (industrial support)
The squalene route to C30 carotenoid biosynthesis and the origins of carotenoid biosynthetic pathways.
Santana-Molina C, Henriques V, Hornero-Méndez D, Devos DP, Rivas-Marin E. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Dec 27;119(52):e2210081119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2210081119. Epub 2022 Dec 19. PMID: 36534808
Reconciling Asgardarchaeota Phylogenetic Proximity to Eukaryotes and Planctomycetes Cellular Features in the Evolution of Life.
Devos DP. Mol Biol Evol. 2021 Aug 23;38(9):3531-3542. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msab186. PMID: 34229349
Origin and Evolution of Polycyclic Triterpene Synthesis.
Santana-Molina C, Rivas-Marin E, Rojas AM, Devos DP. Mol Biol Evol. 2020 Jul 1;37(7):1925-1941. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msaa054. PMID: 32125435
Non-essentiality of canonical cell division genes in the planctomycete Planctopirus limnophila.
Rivas-Marin E, Peeters SH, Claret Fernández L, Jogler C, van Niftrik L, Wiegand S, Devos DP. Sci Rep. 2020 Jan 9;10(1):66. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56978-8. PMID: 31919386
Essentiality of sterol synthesis genes in the planctomycete bacterium Gemmata obscuriglobus.
Rivas-Marin E, Stettner S, Gottshall EY, Santana-Molina C, Helling M, Basile F, Ward NL, Devos DP. Nat Commun. 2019 Jul 2;10(1):2916. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10983-7. PMID: 31266954
