Skip to main content

Or 34,00 After 66% tax deduction

I make a monthly donation I make an IFI donation
Research, science & health

Bassem Hassan joins Paris Brain Institute

Published on: 29/01/2016 Reading time: 1 min
bassem hassan

Paris Brain Institute brings together in one place patients, doctors and researchers in order to rapidly develop treatments for nerve damage and apply these to patients as soon as possible. Coming from all backgrounds and countries, the best scientists work on the most advanced research in the field. In 2013, an international call for tender was launched to welcome new teams. In this context, Bassem Hassan, a world-renowned neuroscientist, joined the Institut du Cerveau - ICM alongside the 25 existing research teams.

BASSEM HASSAN, SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE FOR PATIENT CARE

The Bassem Hassan team focuses on the genetic mechanisms that control early development of the nervous system, cell specification in the formation of neural circuits, as well as the mechanisms involved in neurological diseases, by using Drosophila as a model.

Bassem Hassan team focuses on three main areas of study:

  • The relationship between the individual specificity of a brain network and his/her behaviour
  • The molecular mechanisms responsible for the differentiation of neural stem cells
  • The study of the mechanisms in some diseases:
    • Alzheimer’s disease, by investigating whether the modulation of Wnt signaling pathway by the precursor of amyloid peptide plays a role in the pathology
    • The fragile-X syndrome, studying whether the fragile-X protein plays a role in brain organisation

ABOUT BASSEM HASSAN

Bassem Hassan joined Paris Brain Institute in January 2016 where he is now head of the “Brain Development” team. Once obtained his PhD in molecular genetics at Ohio University in 1996, he completed his post-doctorate at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. From 2001 to 2015, he was senior group leader at “VIB Center for the Biology of Disease” and Professor at the “Center for Human Genetics” at the University of Leuven in Belgium. In 2003, he was awarded the EMBO “Young Investigator” and in 2009 he was elected EMBO member. In 2015, he was named “Einstein Visiting Fellow” for 2016-2018 years at the Free University of Berlin and NeuroCure cluster.

A CALL FOR TENDERS REVEALING THE STRONG ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE Institut du Cerveau - ICM

A call for tenders was launched in spring 2013 to welcome new teams. The Institute received 83 application forms, 90% of international candidates. The interviews were conducted in February 2014. 11 shortlisted candidates were heard by the International Scientific Council of the Institute. A final selection was made late 2014 / early 2015.

Bassem Hassan was ranked first within the international “new teams” call.

With his work, Bassem Hassan, alongside 650 researchers, engineers and technicians of the Institute, will contribute to major progress for nervous system diseases.

Our news on the subject

Le développement du cerveau a une part d’aléatoire
The stochastic aspect of brain development
Although every person’s personality is the result of genetic and environmental factors, these are not the only factors at play. Bassem Hassan and his team at Paris Brain Institute have discovered that, in fruit flies (drosophila), individuality also...
05.12.2025 Research, science & health
Analyse MERSCOPE
New treatment pathways for brain malformation-linked focal epilepsy?
A study by Stéphanie Baulac’s team has revealed somatic mutations in different cell types in patients with type 2 focal cortical dysplasia. This disease causes drug-resistant epileptic seizures, for which the main treatment option is currently...
05.12.2025 Research, science & health
Un iceberg
The ICEBERG cohort, 10 years of collective scientific and medical mobilization
The ICEBERG cohort, initiated 10 years ago, is interested in studying factors predictive of the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease.
05.15.2025 Research, science & health
La huntingtine est une protéine indispensable au développement embryonnaire, à la formation et au maintien du tissu cérébral.
Huntington's Disease: The Energy Hypothesis Gets Traction
Huntington's disease, a rare hereditary neurological disorder, is associated with an energy deficit that precedes the onset of symptoms and is closely linked to their progression. At Paris Brain Institute, Fanny Mochel and her colleagues are testing...
02.11.2025 Research, science & health
À la recherche de marqueurs d’imagerie dans la démence frontotemporale
Searching for Imaging Markers in Frontotemporal Dementia
Could exploring the relationships between different brain networks help us understand frontotemporal dementia (FTD)? This neurodegenerative disease, which progresses at varying rates, is often diagnosed late—when clinical signs are already severe. At...
01.07.2025 Research, science & health
Monocyte – un globule blanc qui se différencie en macrophage. Crédit : Université d’Edinbourg.
Discovery of a Macrophage Anomaly in Multiple Sclerosis
Certain patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) can partially regenerate myelin—the protective sheath that surrounds nerve fibers—which is damaged during the evolution of the disease. In studying how immune cells influence this remyelination...
12.19.2024 Research, science & health
See all our news