Biography

Fanny Jaulin

Fanny Jaulin is a researcher at Gustave Roussy, where she leads a team dedicated to the study of the biology of advanced digestive cancers, particularly colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer. Their work combines cellular biology, 3D technologies, and clinical applications:
 

• Modelling human tumours ex vivo using patient-derived organoids (miniature 3D tumours cultured in the laboratory) to better understand tumour behaviour and test treatment efficacy.
• Development of functional personalised medicine methods: drug sensitivity testing on these organoids to propose therapies tailored to each patient.
• Study of the fundamental mechanisms of cancer cell migration and dissemination, notably modes of collective migration involved in metastasis formation, by combining micro-engineering, microscopy, and biophysical modelling.

In summary, the team works to better understand how cancer cells invade and spread, while translating this knowledge into personalised therapeutic strategies to improve the treatment of digestive cancers.

In 2020, the management at Gustave Roussy entrusted her with establishing an ambitious medico-scientific programme aimed at integrating organoids as tools to aid therapeutic decision-making.

Fanny Jaulin now leads the RHU ORGANOMIC programme (Hospital-University Research, Future Investment Programme), which aims to demonstrate the clinical value of tumour organoids, develop in vitro diagnostic medical devices, and accelerate the advent of functional personalised medicine for patients with solid tumours.

This project is part of a strong translational research dynamic, bringing together leading academic partners in immunology (Institut Pasteur), artificial intelligence (CentraleSupélec), and within the University of Paris-Saclay, as well as industrial partners such as AstraZeneca, Okomera, and Orakl Oncology.

At the heart of the programme, the ORGANOTREAT clinical trial aims to evaluate the clinical relevance of therapeutic tests conducted directly on tumour organoids from several hundred patients.

Fanny Jaulin’s work has resulted in 14 scientific publications, including 9 as last author, in leading international journals such as Nature, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Communications, Science Advances, EMBO Journal, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Annals of Oncology, and Cancer Discovery.

Her work has received national and international recognition, reflected by numerous invitations to major conferences (ASCB, AACR, Gordon Conferences), the awarding of the Fradiss Prize from the Fondation de France in 2019, and more recently, the Cancer 2025 Prize awarded by the National Academy of Medicine.