«Pendant des siècles, la Médecine s’est préoccupée de soigner. Aujourd’hui elle s'est donnée comme but de prévenir plutôt que de guérir.»
Pr Jean Dausset, Prix Nobel de Médecine, 1980
La Fondation Jean Dausset - Centre d’Etude du Polymorphisme Humain participe aux efforts nationaux et internationaux de recherche pour mieux déterminer le rôle du polymorphisme génétique chez l’Homme, tout particulièrement dans les maladies complexes, pour mieux les comprendre, les diagnostiquer et participer au développement d’une médecine personnalisée.

Pr. Gilles Thomas

Professor Gilles Thomas, Scientific Director of Fondation Jean Dausset-CEPH between 1996 and 2005 passed away on February the 23rd 2013 at 67 years old.

Trained as a mathematician and physicist at the French Ecole Polytechnique, he was also doctor in Medicine and Ph D in biochemistry. His first interest was in bacterial genetics with an emphasis on the structure of E. coli RNA and its UV exposure-induced biochemical reactions. He was named director of research at CNRS in 1990. He founded the laboratory “Génétique des tumeurs” in 1982 which was certified by INSERM in 1992 (CJF-INSERM 92-01). Then, he became the Director of the INSERM 434 research unit “Génétique des tumeurs“ at Curie Institute where new mechanisms of colorectal and central nervous system tumorigenesis were identified as well as genes responsible for Ewing Sarcoma and type-2 neurofibromatosis.

In 1996, he became scientific Director of CEPH where he directed the research program on Crohn.s disease that led in 2001 to the identification of the first gene (CARD15) involved in a multifactorial disease.

In 1997, he is appointed Professor in Genetics at Paris VI University where he took the lead of the medical genetics laboratory of the St-Antoine hospital.

In the early 2000s, he encouraged and supported Professor Howard Cann to set a new international collaboration: The HGDP-CEPH (Human Genome Diversity Panel- CEPH).


Pr. Howard Cann and Gilles Thomas

He contributed significantly to the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium project in 2003-2005 and induced a new collaborative spirit at CEPH.

In 2005, he joined the laboratory of Professor Stephen Chanock at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda (USA) to co-direct for 3 years the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) program on prostate cancer.

In 2008, he joined the chair of excellence “Bioinformatics and Cancer Genetics” founded by the Synergie Lyon Cancer foundation, where he developed in collaboration with the French National Cancer Institute and local structures a platform dedicated to the analysis of complex data from genetic studies on breast and prostate cancer. His expertise and reputation allowed France to take part in the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC).

The work of Gilles Thomas, a pioneer of cancer genetics in France, has greatly contributed to the knowledge on colorectal, prostate and breast cancers as well as neurofibromatosis and Crohn.s disease and paved the way for current genetic research.

Gilles was a very cultivated, generous and righteous man who liked challenges. He had an unquenchable thirst for research and especially in genetics and was always keen on sharing his knowledge and passion. His human qualities, his knowledge and his intelligence are a source of admiration for all of us.

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