Alain Fischer (born 11 September 1949 in Paris) is a doctor, professor of

pediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

and French researcher in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

Biography

Alain Fischer's father had wanted to become a doctor, but had been prevented from doing so by the numerous clauses established against the Jews of Hungary. Alain Fischer says his father was one of the reasons he has made a medical career choice. Fischer obtained his medical degree in 1979, and worked with Claude Griscelli at the Neckers-Enfants Malade Hospital. He became Professor of Immunology (PU-PH) at the

University of Paris Descartes Paris Descartes University (), also known as Paris V, was a French public university located in Paris. It was one of the inheritors of the historic University of Paris, which was split into 13 universities in 1970. Paris Descartes completely merg ...

, and then Director of the

Inserm The (Inserm, ) is the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. History and organisation Inserm was created in 1964 as a successor to the French National Institute of Health. Inserm is the only public research institution ...

unit, "Normal and pathological development of the immune system", in 1991. He was Head of the Pediatric Immunology and Hematology Unit (UIH) at Necker Hospital from 1996 to 2012.Alain Fischer, médecin et professeur en immunologie pédiatrique, est nommé titulaire de la chaire Médecine expérimentale . Leçon inaugurale, le jeudi 15 mai 2014 à 18h00
communiqué du Collège de France Fischer was elected in November 2002 as a full member of the French Academy of sciences, and was a member of the National Consultative Ethics Committee from 2005 to 2009. In 2007, he was one of the founding members of the Imagine Institute of Genetic Diseases. In 2008, he received the Inserm Grand Prize for his work.
sur le site du ''

Nouvel Observateur (), previously known as (2014–2024), (1964–2014), (1954–1964), (1953–1954), and (1950–1953), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, ' is one of the three most prominent French news magazines a ...

'' le 2 décembre 2008. On 5 May 2011, Alain Fischer was elected a full member of the

French Academy of Medicine French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), a ...

. In July 2011, he joined

Martine Aubry Martine Louise Marie Aubry (; née Delors; born 8 August 1950) is a French politician. She was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party (''Parti Socialiste'', or PS) from November 2008 to April 2012, and has been the Mayor (France), M ...

's campaign team for the 2012 presidential election, working with Jean Mallot and Brigitte Dormont on the theme "Health and Social Security". Alain Fischer has held the chair of experimental medicine at the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

since 15 May 2014, the date of his inaugural lecture. He is a member of the Scientific Council of the IRIS Association.

Scientific contribution

Alain Fischer's work has been focused for years on

immunodeficiency Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromise, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that aff ...

acquired from birth (such as bubble babies) and curative approaches using gene therapies. With Marina Cavazzana-Calvo and Salima Hacein-Bey, he obtained in 1999, the first clinical successes in the world of gene therapies for about ten bubble children, two of whom developed

leukaemias Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ''leu ...

after a few months, and one of whom had died. The test was stopped urgently in 2002. Research will show that these leukaemias are due to random insertion into a

proto-oncogene An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer. In tumor cells, these genes are often mutated, or expressed at high levels.

of the drug gene. The trial is restarted in 2004, according to a modified protocol using better

retroviral A retrovirus is a type of virus that inserts a DNA copy of its RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell that it invades, thus changing the genome of that cell. After invading a host cell's cytoplasm, the virus uses its own reverse transcriptase e ...

vectors, and will be stopped again in 2005 due to new complications. However, of the 16 children treated to date, 15 are satisfactorily cured of their acute immune deficiency.

Awards and honours

* 1984: Bernard Halpern Prize * 1998: Chevalier of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

* 2001: co-winner of the

Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine Established in 1986, the Louis-Jeantet Prizes are funded by the Louis-Jeantet Foundation, ''Fondation Louis-Jeantet'' and awarded each year to experienced researchers who have distinguished themselves in the field of biomedical research in one ...

* 2008: Grand Prix de l'

* 2015:

Japan Prize is awarded to individuals whose original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind. As of 2024, the Japan Prize h ...

* 2017: Commandeur of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Décret du 30 décembre 2017 portant élévation aux dignités de grand'croix et de grand Officier
('' Legifrance'', 31 décembre 2017) (Chevalier in 2001, officier in 2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Alain 1949 births Physicians from Paris French immunologists 21st-century French biologists Inserm directors Members of the French Academy of Sciences Living people Academic staff of Paris Descartes University Members of the National Academy of Medicine