Hélène Cheval is a lecturer at Sorbonne University – Paris Brain Institute and director of the iMIND Master 2 program.
What is your academic background?
I earned my PhD in the Neurobiology of Learning, Memory, and Communication Laboratory led by Serge Laroche (Orsay, France). I then specialized in epigenetics related to neurodevelopmental disorders in Adrian Bird’s lab (Wellcome Trust, Edinburgh), and I am now a lecturer in the “Molecular Pathophysiology of Parkinson’s Disease” team led by Olga Corti and Jean-Christophe Corvol at the Paris Brain Institute.
My research focuses on signaling pathways associated with long non-coding RNAs and regulatory networks involved in human pathologies, with a particular interest in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and mitochondrial stress. In this context, I contribute to the development of innovative 3D cellular models of PD, known as organoids.
As part of my teaching activity at Sorbonne University—mainly in developmental biology, cell biology, and neuroscience—I launched an international Master’s track in collaboration with the Paris Brain Institute: the iMIND program (International Master in Neurodegenerative Diseases).
The iMIND program has been running for a few years now. What is your assessment so far?
iMIND was born out of a collaboration between Sorbonne University and the Paris Brain Institute. In five years, we have successfully developed an attractive Master's program (50 applications this year), offering unique and high-quality courses in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. We started with six students in 2019 and have now reached our goal of 15 students.
What is the value of the collaboration between the Paris Brain Institute and Sorbonne University for this international Master’s program?
This program was designed to allow students to benefit from the cutting-edge research conducted at the Paris Brain Institute. Many researchers from the Institute teach within the program, as do platform engineers—two of whom co-direct teaching units.
The Paris Brain Institute also offers scholarships to international students who come to France for the first semester of their second-year Master's studies.
What are the latest developments and future plans for the iMIND program?
As part of the 4EU+ Alliance, which includes Sorbonne University, we have established a close partnership with the Molecular Biosciences Master’s program at Heidelberg University (Germany). As a testament to the strength of this collaboration, we organized a summer school in 2024 titled “Modeling Human Neuropathologies,” open to Master’s, PhD, and postdoctoral students. The goal was to foster networking and scientific collaborations for both students and researchers from our institutions.
We aim to make this a recurring event and are proud to announce that the next summer school will take place in Germany from July 6 to 12, 2025!
Meanwhile, we are also in talks with other international universities to expand the iMIND program's educational offerings.
