Charlène completed her thesis, which was defended in October 2024, under the supervision of Cécile Malnou. Her research focused on the impact of infection of the placenta by cytomegalovirus (CMV) on the composition and function of placental extracellular vesicles (EVs). In particular, she showed that EVs have the capacity to stimulate foetal brain development by promoting the differentiation of neural stem cells into neurons. This action of the vesicles is lost when the placenta is infected by CMV. Thus, during congenital CMV infections, placental EVs could directly contribute to the observed disorders in foetal brain development. These changes in the composition of placental EVs also pave the way for the search for non-invasive prognostic biomarkers of infection, which are still sorely lacking.
Charlène has also been heavily involved in the Institute, contributing to its extra-scientific activities. She made a significant contribution to the organisation of one of our Institute retreats, as well as to the creation of the “Infunity” steering committee.