The 2019 Bettencourt Young Researchers Prize was awarded to post-doctoral fellow Isma Bennabi for her research on cell division processes.

Molecular mechanics of chromosomes and sister chromatid resolution

“My area of research is meiosis, the cell division process that produces the eggs and sperm necessary for sexual reproduction. I studied the different errors that can occur during the formation of oocytes to understand developmental diseases in children. I am now studying chromosome organization mechanisms during mitotic divisions, a process of cell division common to all the cells in our body that allows tissue renewal.”

As a post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Bennabi explores the mechanisms linking cytoskeleton and cell division, particularly the structure and biophysical properties of chromosomes during mitosis. Her biophysical approach combined with fundamental biology experiments will allow her to evolve in a multidisciplinary environment to better understand the cell’s fundamental processes.

Isma Bennabi in a few words

2018: Doctoral dissertation: “Importance of microtubule and actin architecture for chromosome alignment in the mouse oocyte", under the supervision of Dr Marie-Emilie Terret, Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology, Collège de France, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Complexity of Life Graduate School- Cellular Biology Section

Post-doctoral fellow under the supervision of Dr Daniel Gerlich, Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA), Vienna (Austria)

Bettencourt Prize for Young Researchers

Created in 1990, the Bettencourt Prize for Young Researchers is one of the first initiatives of the Fondation Bettencourt Schueller. Until 2021, this prize was awarded each year to 14 young doctors of science or doctors of medicine, to enable them to carry out their post-doctoral stay in the best foreign laboratories. 349 young researchers were distinguished. The prize endowment was €25,000.

All the award-winners