Arnaud Gautier is Professor of Chemical Biology at Sorbonne University in Paris and head of the team Chemogenetics to image and control cells in the CPCV Unit (UMR8228), which focuses on developing chemogenetic methods and probes for visualizing and controlling biomolecules within cells.
He began his academic journey at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, where he earned a PhD in chemistry in 2005 for his research on novel transition-state analogs under the guidance of Professor Jens Hasserodt. Subsequently, he joined the research groups of Kai Johnsson at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and Jason W. Chin at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. During these postdoctoral appointments, he developed (i) methods for labeling fusion proteins in living cells with chemical probes and (ii) expanded the genetic code of mammalian cells to create proteins that are rapidly activated by light.
From 2010 to 2019, he was an Assistant Professor at the École Normale Supérieure before being appointed a Full Professor at Sorbonne University in 2019. As a principal investigator, he has pioneered the development of innovative chemogenetic tools that enable the observation and control of biomolecules and dynamic biochemical events within living cells and tissues. By combining chemistry with cutting-edge genetic techniques, these tools can allow biologists to investigate fundamental mechanisms, explore the causes of diseases, and develop novel therapeutic strategies.
His research has resulted in the publication of over 60 papers, 6 book chapters, and 8 patents. He is also committed to making his research tools accessible to the broader scientific community. One notable example is the creation of “The Twinkle Factory” (https://www.the-twinkle-factory.com), a start-up company that commercializes next-generation chemogenetic tools for cell biology.
He was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant (2016) and received the CNRS bronze Medal (2017). Additionally, he is a member of the Institut Universitaire de France (Junior 2018-2023, Senior 2024-2029).