Moncef Ladjimi, PhD
Dr. Moncef Ladjimi, who received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, France, served at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris, France, as Assistant Professor of Biochemistry (1988-1990) and Associate Professor of Biochemistry (1991-1996) before holding the academic rank of Professor of Biochemistry (1997-2010).
Before joining WCM-Q in August 2010, he was Research Director at the Laboratory of Enzymology of the CNRS at Gif sur Yvette, the laboratory of Biochemistry of the University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, and the Laboratory of Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Versailles. He has been Guest Professor of Biochemistry and Structural Biology at the University of Guizhou, Department of Biochemistry, China and at the University of Sfax, School of Engineering, Tunisia.
Dr. Ladjimi has acted as reviewer and consultant to the Tunisian Ministry of Research and to various non-profit organizations in research and development and member of the Research Evaluation Committees of the CNRS.
Research in Dr. Ladjimi's laboratory has been focused on understanding how HSP70 molecular chaperones and their cochaperones help cells cope with stress in general, be it physical (temperature), chemical (environmental toxins) or physiological (neurodegenerative disease). Through the association of molecular biology, biophysics and biochemistry, his work aimed at determining the structure of these proteins in solution and analyzing the relationship between structural aspects and functional aspects in resistance to stress and cell protection. Current research interests involve the modulation of aggregate formation by molecular chaperones in neurodegenerative disease and the molecular mechanisms of toxicity by environmental toxins as well as the research of biomarkers by proteomics.