Agnès Bernet, (born 1968) is a French cell biologist and professor of cancer biology at the University Claude Bernard Lyon I. A co-founder of NETRIS Pharma, she has led within the Laboratory of Apoptosis, Cancer and Development, the research team that validated the use of interference ligand/dependence receptors as novel targeted therapies for cancer.

Life and work

Bernet earned her PhD at University Claude Bernard Lyon I in 1994 with the thesis ''Etude, par recombinaison homologue, de régions régulatrices de l'expression des gènes de globine alpha humains (Study, by

homologous recombination Homologous recombination is a type of genetic recombination in which genetic information is exchanged between two similar or identical molecules of double-stranded or single-stranded nucleic acids (usually DNA as in cellular organisms but may ...

, of regulatory regions of the expression of human

alpha globin Hemoglobin subunit alpha, Hemoglobin, alpha 1, is a hemoglobin protein that in humans is encoded by the ''HBA1'' gene. Gene The human alpha globin gene cluster located on chromosome 16 spans about 30 kb and includes seven loci: 5'- zeta - pseu ...

genes). Her'' research focused on the study of two regions that may be involved in the activation of human alpha globin genes during erythroid differentiation. In 2008, she co-founded the company Netris Pharma SAS, where she serves as scientific director and coordinates numerous research projects concerning clinical therapies relating to cancer. In particular, her work on

Netrin-1 Netrin-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''NTN1'' gene. Netrin is included in a family of laminin-related secreted proteins. The function of this gene has not yet been defined; however, netrin is thought to be involved in axon gui ...

, the antibody developed by her team, is an antitumor product that has been tested in humans in clinical trials at the Center

Léon Bérard Léon Bérard (6 January 1876, Sauveterre-de-Béarn – 24 February 1960 in Saint-Étienne) was a French politician and lawyer. Bérard was Minister of Public Instruction in 1919 and from 1921 to 1924, and Minister of Justice from 1931 to 1932 ...

. Her work has focused on a new therapeutic target, dependence receptors. These are pairs of receptors/ligands which are deregulated in cancers. The first prototype therapeutic molecule was an antibody against the ligand Netrin-1, overexpressed in many types of cancer. This antibody causes the death of tumor cells. Bernet was named a junior member of the

Institut Universitaire de France The Institut Universitaire de France (IUF, Academic Institute of France), is a service of the French Ministry of Higher Education that distinguishes each year a small number of university professors for their research excellence, as evidenced by t ...

in 2008, which was a five-year appointment. In 2015, she received the

Irène Joliot-Curie Prize The Irène Joliot-Curie Prize is a French prize for women in science and technology, founded in 2001. It is awarded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the Airbus Group corporate foundation, the French Academy of Scienc ...

in the Women and Business category for her work in both teaching and researching cancer therapies.

Selected publications

* Bernet, A. (1994). ''Etude, par recombinaison homologue, de régions régulatrices de l'expression des gènes de globine α humains'' (Doctoral dissertation, University Claude Bernard Lyon I). (In French). * Bernet, A., Mazelin, L., Coissieux, M. M., Gadot, N., Ackerman, S. L., Scoazec, J. Y., & Mehlen, P. (2007). Inactivation of the UNC5C Netrin-1 receptor is associated with tumor progression in colorectal malignancies. ''

Gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- “belly”, -énteron “intestine”, and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract ...

'', ''133''(6), 1840-1848. * Bernet, A., & Mehlen, P. (2007). Dependence receptors: when apoptosis controls tumor progression. ''Bulletin du cancer'', ''94''(4), 10012-10017. * Bernet, A., & Fitamant, J. (2008). Netrin-1 and its receptors in tumour growth promotion. ''

Expert opinion on therapeutic targets ''Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal publishing review articles and original papers on recently identified novel molecular drug targets across all therapy areas. It was originally established as ' ...

'', ''12''(8), 995-1007. * Bellina, M., & Bernet, A. (2022). La nétrine-1, une nouvelle cible antitumorale (Netrin-1, a new antitumor target). ''médecine/sciences'', ''38''(4), 351-358. (In French).

Awards and distinctions

* Knight of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

* Irène Joliot-Curie Prize (2015) * Bernet is listed as an inventor of several patents

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernet, Agnes Living people 1968 births Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century French women 21st-century French women scientists 21st-century French scientists French women biologists French biologists University of Lyon alumni Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur