Colloques du Collège de France - Collège de France

Jean-Jacques Hublin

Paléantropologie

Collège de France

Année 2023-2024

Conférence - Hugo Meijer : Aux origines de la guerre et de la paix dans l'espèce humaine

Hugo Meijer

Chargé de recherche CNRS au Centre de recherches internationales (CERI) de Sciences Po Paris

Hugo Meijer est invité par le Pr Jean-Jacques Hublin.

Résumé

Quelles sont les origines de la guerre et de la paix ? Notre espèce, Homo sapiens, présente un paradoxe remarquable : nous sommes la seule espèce capable à la fois de conflits létaux et de coopération pacifique étendue entre groupes. Alors que certaines espèces se livrent à des conflits intergroupes (comme, par exemple, les chimpanzés, les loups et les fourmis), d'autres font preuve d'une coopération intergroupe limitée (comme les bonobos et les dauphins), mais aucune autre espèce ne combine ces deux comportements à une telle échelle et avec une telle complexité. En intégrant des données issues d'un large éventail de disciplines (biologie, primatologie, anthropologie, archéologie, génétique, neurosciences, criminologie, psychologie sociale, linguistique, démographie et climatologie), l'ouvrage présenté par Hugo Meijer – Janus-faced: The Origins of War and Peace in the Human Species – analyse les facteurs biologiques, culturels et environnementaux qui permettent de saisir quand et pourquoi cette dualité, qui nous distingue au sein du règne animal, a émergé au cours de la lignée humaine.

Hugo Meijer est chargé de recherche CNRS au Centre de recherches internationales (CERI) de Sciences Po Paris, dont il est également le directeur adjoint. Il est également directeur fondateur de l'European Initiative for Security Studies (EISS), le réseau universitaire paneuropéen en études de sécurité.

Publication à paraître : Janus-faced: The Origins of War and Peace in the Human Species (Cambridge : Cambridge University Press).

Sébastien Lecommandoux

Collège de France

Innovation technologique Liliane Bettencourt (2024-2025)

Année 2024-2025

Colloque - Advancing Biomaterials: Biomimetic and Biohybrid Innovations

Sam Stupp : Role of Supramolecular Motion in Cell Signaling

Sam Stupp

Professeur, Northwestern University

Sam Stupp

Samuel Stupp is Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. He also directs Northwestern's Center for Regenerative Nanomedicine. Stupp's interdisciplinary research is focused on developing self-assembling supramolecular nanostructures and materials for functions relevant to renewable energy, regenerative medicine, and robotic soft matter. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Spanish Academy, the National Academy of Sciences of Latin America, the National Academy of Sciences of Costa Rica, and the U.S. National Academy of Inventors. Stupp has won numerous awards over the course of his career, including three American Chemical Society national awards: the Award in Polymer Chemistry, the Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry, and the Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry. He recently received the 2022 Materials Research Society Von Hippel Award, the highest honor awarded by this society. Other awards include the Department of Energy Prize for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment in Materials Chemistry, the Materials Research Society Medal Award, the Royal Society of Chemistry Award in Soft Matter and Biophysical Chemistry, and the Nanoscience Prize from the International Society for Nanoscale Science, Computation, and Engineering, which recognizes lifelong achievement in the field.

Sébastien Lecommandoux

Collège de France

Innovation technologique Liliane Bettencourt (2024-2025)

Année 2024-2025

Colloque - Advancing Biomaterials: Biomimetic and Biohybrid Innovations

Kazunori Kataoka : Self-Assembling Polymer Nanosystems: Towards Clinical Translation of Smart Drug Delivery

Kazunori Kataoka

Professeur, iCONM - University of Tokyo

Résumé

Self-assembling polymer-based nanosystems, particularly polymer micelle-type drug delivery systems (PM-DDS), have emerged as powerful platforms for the smart delivery of therapeutic agents. Constructed through the spontaneous organization of precision-engineered block copolymers, these nanoscale carriers—typically 10 to 100 nm in size, comparable to viruses—feature a core–shell structure that enables both efficient drug encapsulation and excellent biocompatibility. While initially developed for small-molecule delivery, PM-DDS technology has rapidly evolved to accommodate more complex modalities such as nucleic acid and protein therapeutics, as well as imaging contrast agents. This presentation will focus on recent advances in PM-DDS, with particular emphasis on systems designed for the delivery of nucleic acid-based drugs including siRNA, antisense oligonucleotides (ASO), and mRNA. Highlighted examples include platforms that have progressed to clinical evaluation, underscoring the translational potential of these self-assembling nanocarriers in addressing intractable diseases.

Kazunori Kataoka

Prof. Kazunori Kataoka is the Center Director of the Innovation Center of NanoMedicine, Kawasaki Institute of Industrial Promotion, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. For over four decades, he has made pioneering contributions to the fields of biomaterials, particularly in drug delivery and targeting, non-viral gene delivery, and nanomedicine. He has authored more than 600 peer-reviewed publications, which have garnered over 100,000 citations (h-index: 168), and has been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics for nine consecutive years since 2016. His many accolades include the Clemson Award from the Society for Biomaterials (2004), the Founder's Award from the Controlled Release Society (2006), the NIMS Award from the National Institute for Materials Science (Japan, 2009), the Humboldt Research Award (2012), the Leo Esaki Prize (2012), the Gutenberg Research Award (2015), the Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund Prize (2017), the Biomaterials Global Impact Award (2023), and the Clarivate Citation Laureate in Chemistry (2023). He is an International Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (since 2017), and a Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Inventors (since 2017). In 2018, he was awarded the honorary degree Doctor Honoris Causa (Dr.h.c.) by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany

Sébastien Lecommandoux

Collège de France

Innovation technologique Liliane Bettencourt (2024-2025)

Année 2024-2025

Colloque - Advancing Biomaterials: Biomimetic and Biohybrid Innovations

Patrick Couvreur : Advanced nanomedicines for the treatment of severe diseases

Patrick Couvreur

Professeur invité, Collège de France

Résumé

Even if new molecules are discovered to treat severe diseases, the clinical efficacy of conventional chemotherapeutics is hampered by drug resistance and non-specific biodistribution. Advanced nanodevices may overcome some of these limitations. This will be illustrated by several advanced nanomedicine platforms:

The design of biodegradable doxorubicin-loaded polyalkylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles for the treatment of the multidrug resistant hepatocarcinoma (a nanomedicine with phase III clinical trials ended).

The construction of nanoparticles made of metal oxide frameworks (NanoMOFs), a highly hyperporous material obtained by the complexation of iron oxide clusters with diacids.

The "squalenoylation", a technology that takes advantage of the squalene's dynamically folded molecular conformation, to link this natural and biocompatible lipid with drug molecules to achieve the spontaneous formation of nanoassemblies (100–300 nm). These squalene-based nanoparticles are using the circulating LDL as "indirect" carriers for targeting cancer cells with high expression of LDL receptors. The application of the "squalenoylation" concept to the treatment of cancer and neurological disorders will be discussed too.

Patrick Couvreur

Patrick Couvreur is a Professor Emeritus at Université Paris-Saclay and a member of the French Academy of Sciences. He held the Liliane Bettencourt Chair of Technological Innovation at the Collège de France in 2010 and is also a member of the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF). A world-renowned expert in drug delivery and nanomedicine, his research focuses on the use of nanotechnologies to develop targeted therapies for severe diseases, particularly cancer and central nervous system disorders. He has founded three start-ups, one of which was listed on the stock exchange and led the development of a nanomedicine that reached phase III clinical trials for the treatment of resistant hepatocellular carcinoma. Professor Couvreur is also a member of the French National Academy of Medicine, the Academy of Technologies, and served as President of the French Academy of Pharmacy in 2020. Internationally, he is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium, the Royal National Academy of Pharmacy in Spain, and the Japan Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology. He has received numerous prestigious awards both in France and abroad, including the Host Madsen medal, the CNRS Innovation Medal, the Galien Prize, and the European Inventor Award.

Sébastien Lecommandoux

Collège de France

Innovation technologique Liliane Bettencourt (2024-2025)

Année 2024-2025

Colloque - Advancing Biomaterials: Biomimetic and Biohybrid Innovations

Harm-Anton Klok : Surface-Grafted Polymer Brush Films: Leveraging Structural Complexity For New Properties and Functions

Harm-Anton Klok

Professeur, EPFL

Résumé

Surface-initiated polymerization is a unique way to produce thin, functional polymer films. As polymer chains are grown from surfaces that are modified with initiators or chain transfer agents to mediate chain growth, this process ensures a unidirectional growth and net parallel alignment of the polymer tethers. These surface-grafted polymer brushes have a complex nanoscale structure that is characterized, amongst others, by a non-uniform segment density profile. This presentation will highlight 3 examples of surface-grafted polymer brushes with unique non-biofouling and lubrication characteristics, as well as piezo- and pyroelectric properties, which demonstrate the intricate relationship between nanoscale structure and properties for surface-grafted polymer brushes.

Harm-Anton Klok

Harm-Anton Klok is Full Professor at the Institutes of Materials, and Chemical Sciences and Engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) (Lausanne, Switzerland). He studied chemical technology at the University of Twente (Enschede, The Netherlands) from 1989 to 1993 and received his Ph.D. in 1997 from the University of Ulm (Germany) after working with Martin Möller. After postdoctoral research with David N. Reinhoudt (University of Twente) and Samuel I. Stupp (University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, USA), he joined the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Mainz, Germany) in early 1999 as a project leader in the group of Klaus Müllen. In March 2003 he joined EPFL.

Sébastien Lecommandoux

Collège de France

Innovation technologique Liliane Bettencourt (2024-2025)

Année 2024-2025

Colloque - Advancing Biomaterials: Biomimetic and Biohybrid Innovations

Jan van Hest : Polymer-based artificial cells

Jan van Hest

Professeur, Eindhoven University of Technology

Résumé

Compartmentalization is generally regarded as one of the key prerequisites for life. To better understand its role, there is a clear need for model systems in which life-like properties can be installed. In this lecture I will discuss a synthetic cell platform composed of a complex polymer coacervate formed from oppositely charged amylose derivatives and stabilized by a semi-permeable polymer membrane. The coacervate structure resembles better the crowded environment observed in the cytoplasm than vesicular structures normally do. Cargo, such as enzymes, can be highly effectively loaded in the coacervates, based on complementary charge and affinity. This allows protocell communication with this robust synthetic platform. Using natural scaffolding proteins we can controllably take up and release proteins from the artificial environment, which mimics natural secretion. We have reconstructed the cellular architecture of a eukaryotic cell by incorporating multiple artificial organelles, both with membrane-bound and membrane-less architectures. Furthermore we have equipped the cells with an artificial cytoskeleton that allows us to modulate membrane dynamics and mechanical properties. Finally, we are able to incorporate life-like features such as motility in these structures, making this class of artificial cells a very versatile platform to study and mimic biological processes.

Jan van Hest

Jan van Hest obtained his PhD from Eindhoven University of Technology in 1996 with prof E.W. Meijer. After a postdoctoral stay with prof D.A. Tirrell, he joined the chemical company DSM. In 2000, he was appointed full professor in Bio-organic chemistry at Radboud University Nijmegen. As of September 2016 he holds the chair of Bio-organic Chemistry at Eindhoven University of Technology. Since May 2017 he is the scientific director of the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems. He is one of the main applicants of two gravitation programs on Functional Molecular Systems and Interactive Polymer Materials, and was awarded two ERC Advanced grants (2015 and 2024). He has been elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019, the Academia Europaea in 2023 and was awarded the Spinoza premium in 2020. 65 PhD students have obtained their doctorate degree under his supervision, and he has published around 400 papers. He is also cofounder of four start-up companies. The group's focus is to develop well-defined compartments for nanomedicine and artificial cell research. Using a combination of techniques from polymer science to protein engineering, well-defined carriers and scaffolds are developed for application in cancer treatment and immunology.

Sébastien Lecommandoux

Collège de France

Innovation technologique Liliane Bettencourt (2024-2025)

Année 2024-2025

Colloque - Advancing Biomaterials: Biomimetic and Biohybrid Innovations

Welcome and Introduction

Sébastien Lecommandoux

Enseignant-chercheur au Laboratoire de chimie des polymères organiques, Bordeaux INP, professeur invité du Collège de France

Présentation

Le colloque se concentrera sur les innovations de pointe en matière de biomatériaux, avec un focus sur les organelles synthétiques fonctionnelles et les (bio)matériaux biomimétiques. Ces matériaux, inspirés par les systèmes naturels, sont conçus pour reproduire et améliorer les fonctions biologiques dans des applications médicales avancées. Un aspect central des discussions portera sur les auto-assemblages supramoléculaires multi-échelle et multi-composants, des structures dynamiques capables de s'organiser spontanément, avec des implications directes pour la médecine régénérative, les systèmes de délivrance de médicaments ou à plus long terme dans les neurosciences.

Les sessions exploreront également la nanotechnologie moléculaire biomimétique, une approche qui utilise des stratégies inspirées par la nature pour concevoir des systèmes à l'échelle nanométrique capables de répondre aux défis thérapeutiques. Le rôle des polymères thérapeutiques sera mis en avant, avec une attention particulière aux polypeptides bioinspirés, qui, grâce à leur versatilité et leur biocompatibilité, dont énormes et récents progrès ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives.

Le colloque traitera également des systèmes biohybrides à base de protéines, fusionnant des composants biologiques et synthétiques pour créer des matériaux multifonctionnels. Ces systèmes, intégrant des mécanismes du vivant et des matériaux artificiels, offrent des perspectives uniques pour développer des solutions thérapeutiques innovantes, notamment en immunothérapie et en oncologie. Ce rendez-vous scientifique mettra en lumière les intersections entre biologie et chimie des matériaux, et leur potentiel pour transformer la médecine moderne.

Jean-Jacques Hublin

Paléantropologie

Collège de France

Année 2024-2025

Colloque - Traces de morts, traces de sens dans la préhistoire

Bruno Boulestin : Interpréter le cannibalisme préhistorique : l'exemple du site néolithique de Herxheim

Bruno Boulestin

Université de Bordeaux

Jean-Jacques Hublin

Paléantropologie

Collège de France

Année 2024-2025

Colloque - Traces de morts, traces de sens dans la préhistoire

Philippe Lefranc : Massacres, trophées et fêtes de victoire dans le néolithique européen

Philippe Lefranc

Université de Strasbourg

Jean-Jacques Hublin

Paléantropologie

Collège de France

Année 2024-2025

Colloque - Traces de morts, traces de sens dans la préhistoire

Alain Beyneix : L'enfant et la mort dans l'Occident néolithique

Alain Beyneix

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle