Ischemic Brain Injury: Involvement of Lipids in the Pathophysiology of Stroke and Therapeutic Strategies

Nathalie Bernoud-Hubac is a Professor of Biochemistry at INSA Lyon (France). She is Head of the “Mechanics, Lipidomics and Engineering for Health” team of Contacts and Structural Mechanics Laboratory (LaMCoS) (a mixed unit of INSA/CNRS Research) and the director of a Functional Lipidomics Platform (Institute for Multidisciplinary Biochemistry of Lipids, IMBL/LaMCoS–INSA Lyon). The main objectives of the Mecalips team are to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of chronic diseases better (from molecular to macroscopic scales), to detect early pathological dysfunctions combining biochemistry and biomechanics techniques, and to develop new strategies for the prevention and control of these chronic diseases via bioengineered structured lipids. The pathologies targeted are mainly pulmonary, vascular, articular, and neurological pathologies. Her research interests span both lipids and human health. More specifically, her work focuses on omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is uniquely enriched in the brain and is required for normal cerebral development and learning in humans. Deficiency in DHA level in the brain is linked with the emergence of neurodegenerative diseases. Efficient delivery of DHA into the brain is therefore necessary to prevent brain dysfunction. Her current research examines brain targeting with structured phospholipids containing DHA and the potential of these molecules as neuroprotective agents.

Michel Lagarde is a University Professor Emeritus at INSA Lyon (Lyon University). He started his research career at the Pasteur Institute of Lyon, located in a University Hospital, and then spent around ten years as a researcher at Inserm, the French Medical Research Council/National Institute of Health, before holding a university position teaching structural and metabolic biochemistry and pursuing his research on lipids. His research interest relates to membrane lipids and lipid mediators generated in blood and vascular cells in response to specific activators, especially in the context of aging and diabetes mellitus. These lipid mediators are mainly oxygenated derivatives of polyunsaturated fatty acids of nutritional value. After a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and a Doctorate in Sciences, he benefited from a post-doctoral stay at the Department of Biochemistry, Royal College of Surgeons of England, London. Then, following his Doctorate in Human Biology (Hematology and Immunology), he benefited from three short sabbatical stays at the Department of Pharmacology, University of Illinois, Chicago, at the Department of Biochemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, and the Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, University of California, San Diego. He founded the Institute for Multidisciplinary Biochemistry of Lipids (IMBL) in Lyon and was the director of a functional lipidomics platform. He has been president of several scientific societies (GERLI, ICBL, and ISSFAL).