Biography
Stéphanie Baulac is co-leader of the team "Genetics and pathophysiology of epilepsy". She received an M.Sc. in Human Genetics in 1998 and a Ph.D. in Neurogenetics from the Université Paris V René Descartes in 2001. In 2014, she received the Prix Valérie Chamaillard, an award from the French Foundation for Epilepsy Research. In 2016, she was awarded an ERC consolidator scholarship. Within the Brain Institute, she is the scientific leader of the iGenSeq platform (sequencing and genotyping). Stéphanie has been a member of the administrative and scientific council of the French League against Epilepsy (LFCE) since 2012. In 2019, she was awarded the Michael Prize (shared with B. Frauscher) in Epileptology.
Research
The team led by Stéphanie BAULAC is interested in focal epilepsies associated with malformations of cortical development caused by mutations in mTOR signaling pathway genes. The three main objectives of the team are:
- To evaluate the role and origin of cerebral somatic mutations in epilepsies with malformations of cortical development.
- Investigate effect of mutations using patient iPSCs
To understand how mTOR gene mutations contribute to epileptogenesis and seizures using mouse models (in utero electroporation models and knockouts).
Principales publications
- Chung C, Yang X, Bae T , Vong K, Mittal S , Conti V, Guerrini R, Devinsky O, Wilson A. Silva Jr 18, Helio R. Machado 7, Mathern G , Abyzov A, Baldassari S, Baulac S, Focal Cortical Dysplasia Neurogenetics Consortium &, Brain Somatic Mosaicism Network and Gleeson J. (2023) Comprehensive multiomic profiling of somatic mutations in malformations of cortical development.Nat Genet. 2023 Feb;55(2):209-220.
- Bacq A, Roussel D, Bonduelle T, Zagaglia S, Maletic M, Ribierre T, Adle-Biassette H, Marchal C, Jennesson M, An I, Picard F, Navarro V, Sisodiya S and Baulac. (2022) Cardiac investigations in sudden unexpected death in DEPDC5-related epilepsy.Annals of Neurology 2022 Jan;91(1):101-116.
- Lee WS, Baldassari S, Stephenson S, Lockhart P, Baulac S * and Leventer RJ*. (2022) Cortical dysplasia and the mTOR pathway: how the study of human brain tissue has led to insights into epileptogenesis.International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2022 Jan 25;23(3):1344 doi: 10.3390/ijms23031344.
- Baldassari S and Baulac S. (2022). Genetics of FCD: an emerging scenario; Book Chapter in « Focal Cortical Dysplasias: New Advances for Curing Epilepsy”, edited by Francine Chassoux and Andres Luis Fernandes Palmini (2022). John Libbey edition.
- Blümcke I, Budday S, Poduri A, Lal D, Kobow K and Baulac S. (2021) Neocortical development and epilepsy: insights from focal cortical dysplasia and brain tumours.Lancet Neurology 2021 Nov;20(11):943-955.
- Kim S*, Baldassari S*, Sim NS, Chipaux M, Dorfmüller G, Kim DS, Chang WS, Taly V, Lee JH and Baulac S. (2021) Detection of Brain Somatic Mutations in Cerebrospinal Fluid from Refractory Epilepsy Patients.Annals of Neurology Jun;89(6):1248-1252.
- De Fusco A, Cerullo MS, Marte A, Michetti C, Romei A, Castroflorio E, Baulac S, Benfenati F (2020). Acute knockdown of Depdc5 leads to synaptic defects in mTOR-related epileptogenesis.Neurobiol of Disease. 2020;104822. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.104822.
- Baldassari S, Ribierre T, Marsan E, Adle-Biassette H, Ferrand-Sorbets S, Bulteau C, Dorison N, Fohlen M, Polivka M, Weckhuysen S, Dorfmüller G, Chipaux M, and Baulac S. (2019) Dissecting the genetic basis of focal cortical dysplasia: a large cohort study.Acta Neuropathol 2019 Dec;138(6):885-900.
- Ribierre T, Deleuze C, Bacq A, Baldassari S, Marsan E, Chipaux M, Muraca G, Roussel D, Navarro V, Leguern E, Miles R and Baulac S (2018). Second-hit mosaic mutation in mTORC1 repressor DEPDC5 causes focal cortical dysplasia-associated epilepsy.Journal of Clinical Investigation, Jun 1;128(6):2452-2458.
- Baulac S, Ishida S, Marsan E, Miquel C, Biraben A, Nguyen DK, Nordli D, Cossette P, Nguyen S, Lambrecq V, Vlaicu M, Daniau M, Bielle F, Andermann E, Andermann F, Leguern E, Chassoux F, Picard F (2015). Familial focal epilepsy with focal cortical dysplasia due to DEPDC5 mutations.Ann Neurol. Apr; 77(4): 675-83. Highlighted as Best Advances of 2015 by the Neurology Today Editorial Advisory Board.
- Ishida S, Picard F, Rudolf G, Noé E, Achaz G, Thomas P, Genton P, Mundwiller E, Wolff M, Marescaux C, Miles R, Baulac M, Hirsch E, Leguern E and Baulac S (2013). Mutations of DEPDC5 cause autosomal dominant focal epilepsies. Nat Genet,Apr 26; 45(5): 552-5.