MPuvieux

Eric Vivier is a professor of immunology at Aix-Marseille University who was born in Clamart, France.

Biography

Eric Vivier, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Doctor of Science (DVM, PhD), is a professor of immunology at Aix-Marseille University who was born in Clamart, France.

He graduated with the highest honors (silver medal) from the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort and received his doctoral degree in immunology from Paris XI University. He began his postdoctoral training as a Fogarty International Center Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School with Paul J. Anderson and Stuart F. Schlossman (the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute).

He joined Aix-Marseille University as a professor at the Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML) in 1993 and became its director in 2008.

In 1999, Dr. Vivier cofounded the biotech company Innate-Pharma.

In 2014, he was one of the founders of the Marseille-Immunopole, an immunology cluster linking fundamental research, therapeutic innovation, and industrial development in the Aix-Marseille region.

Scientific insights

Dr. Vivier has made seminal contributions to our understanding of the molecular basis of the ontogeny, function, and therapeutic manipulation of natural killer (NK) cells, and the identification of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in mice and humans. His research has had a profound influence on the field of innate immunology.

His early work determined the mode of action of the inhibitory MHC class I receptors expressed on NK cells and extended the concept of ITIM-bearing molecules to multiple cell types and multiple biologic functions. In parallel, his group identified the ITAM-bearing polypeptide, KARAP/DAP12/Tyrobp.

The Vivier laboratory has since been a world leader in the generation of transgenic mouse models for the dissection of NK-cell function in vivo. Building on these basic research results, the Vivier laboratory has also been involved in the development of innovative treatments for cancer. This translation of basic research discoveries into clinical applications led to the development with Innate Pharma of a first-in-class therapeutic monoclonal antibody to KIR (lirilumab), the efficacy of which against various cancers is currently being assessed.

These studies on NK cells led to the involvement of the Vivier laboratory in the discovery of ILCs through the detection and characterization of the ILC3 cell subset in human and mouse intestine. 

Dr. Vivier has published more than 300 scientific articles and is on the editorial boards of leading peer-reviewed journals. He serves on the expert panel of the European Research Council and on the committees of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Awards & Honours

• the French National League against Cancer (1996, 2004, and 2013),
• the National Award and Tremplins Rhône-Poulenc Award for Biotech start-ups (1999),
• the Lucien Tartois Award from the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (1999),
• the Jacques Oudin Award from the French Society for Immunology (2003),
• the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Immunologie/EFIS Award (2004),
• the Grand Prix Turpin in Oncology (2008),
• the Grand Prix Charles Oberling in Oncology (2010),
• the Australasian Society for Immunology, Visiting Speaker Programme Award (2015)
• Thomson Reuter,s Highly Cited Researcher

In 2007, Dr. Vivier became a senior fellow of the Institut Universitaire de France, and, in 2013, he was elected to the French National Academy of Medicine.

In 2016, he was awarded honorary citizen of the city of Cassis, Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur and Ambassadeur de la ville de Marseille.

Current positions

• Professor of Immunology, Marseille Medical School and Assistance-Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille (PU-PH Classe Exceptionnelle)
• Director of the Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML), Marseille
• Head of the “NK cells and Innate Immunity” lab, CIML
• Head of the NK monitoring lab, Conception Hospital, Marseille
• Co-founder and coordinator of the Federation Hospitalo-Universtaire Marseille-Immunopole

Membership

• 1996: Institut Universitaire de France
• 2011: European Academy of Tumor Immunology
• 2013: French National Academy of Medecine

Links

• Eric Viver fact sheet on the Institut Universitaire de France website
• Eric Vivier fact sheet on the Académie Nationale de Médecine web site
• Listing of scientific publications on Google Scholar
• NK cells and Innate Immunity lab at CIML
• Innate Pharma founders
• Marseille Immunopole