WOMEN AND SCIENCE
"Women and Science" month continues at the Institut Pasteur and off campus, with profiles, videos, testimonials, exhibitions and music – check out the latest news and upcoming events!
Since February, the newsletter team has been presenting the events and highlights organized for "Women and Science" month, both on and off campus and online.
A dedicated space has also been added to the ePasteur home page, containing all the latest news and upcoming events on the topic of women and science.
From the home page, click on the thumbnail below and browse the page via the menu and quick access links.
Activities on campus and online, profiles of female Pasteurians – read on for all the latest "Women and Science" news:
Activities on campus
Take advantage of the many events and activities on campus throughout this special month.
Since February 9 and until March 20: Pasteurian Women exhibition and readings in the atrium of the François Jacob building
The CeRIS and the Pasteur Museum are pleased to invite you to the Pasteurian Women exhibition, which opened on February 9 and features a selection of archive photographs of women who played a role in the history of the Institut Pasteur. There are also two glass display cases dedicated to the life of Marie Pasteur, a key figure in the founding of the Institut Pasteur who was instrumental in sharing and promoting Louis Pasteur's scientific research.
Second session of readings – with plenty of surprises in store!
Come along to the atrium in the François Jacob building on Monday March 16, 2026 at 1.30pm for a series of exclusive readings on the topic of female scientists. Following on from a successful first session on February 17, the teams from the CeRIS and the Pasteur Museum are delighted to invite you to a second session in which they will present a series of testimonials from past and present Institut Pasteur staff that will give you a whole new perspective on the Institut Pasteur.
Share your thoughts
And don't forget to add your contribution to the "Today's Testimonials" book at the exhibition venue, where we invite you to express your thoughts with a message, a sentence, an anecdote or a drawing. Your contributions will inspire readers and the wider community!
Come and explore the exhibition, listen to the testimonials, and share your thoughts!
Contact: marie.martin@pasteur.fr
March 17: invitation to the symposium "Women's Health, Women in Health"
The team from Scientific Priority 3, "Origins of Diseases," together with the Department for Scientific Programming and Incentive Actions (SPAIS) and the DEI, are pleased to invite you to the symposium "Women's Health, Women in Health" on March 17, 2026 at the Institut Pasteur, in connection with equality month and International Women's Day.
The event will include presentations from scientists and physicians from the Institut Pasteur, the Institut Curie, the Institut Cochin, the French Society for Cardiology and the "Women's Cancers" University Hospital Institute, etc.
See the list of confirmed speakers so far:
The event is free but prior registration is required.
The poster session will be an opportunity to create a shared space to raise awareness and discuss potential research projects, initiatives and collaboration on gender equality issues.
The symposium is the result of a joint initiative that reflects a shared commitment to advancing research via a cross-disciplinary approach combining research laboratories, medicine and the societal impacts of public health.
Any questions? Please contact Elodie Dandelot by email at: elodie.dandelot@pasteur.fr
Organizing team: Cécile Apert, Sylvie Gratepanche, Han Li, Lucie Peduto, Mallory Perrin-Wolff et Cécile Vacher
Online activity
As announced in recent newsletters, the Institut Pasteur website, pasteur.fr, and social media pages will also be used to promote the initiative in support of science, women and health.
Program:
Every week from February 11, in an online echo of the exhibition now on display in the atrium of the François Jacob building, the CeRIS will be publishing profiles of women at the Institut Pasteur on the intranet, presenting their careers and scientific achievements based on Sandra Legout's historical research.
Check out the four latest online profiles:
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Nicole Bourcart (1914-1983), leprosy specialist
Odile Croissant (1923-2020), a pioneering figure in electron microscopy
Colette Jéramec (1896-1970), a scientist and patron
Anne-Marie Staub (1914-2012), a specialist in bacterial antigensAnd make sure you take a look at the "CeRIS favorites" videos on women's health, from March 9 onwards.
Once a week over the course of the month, vote on the Pasteur Museum's Instagram account for your choice of profiles about the women who have shaped the Institut Pasteur. Through their scientific research and their work, they made the Institut Pasteur what it is today.
Check out and take part in the #MaScienceDemain participatory challenge on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and TikTok.
A series of videos is also being broadcast on the Institut Pasteur's YouTube channelas another way of showcasing women and girls in science during this gender month.
Have a listen to:
Molly Ingersoll speaking about differences in immunity between women and men
Clarisse Ganier talking to us about her project on the skin microbiota and hidradenitis suppurativa
Veranika Panasenkava speaking about Alzheimer's disease
Aurélie Chiche discussing women's cancersMathilda: the clip giving women in science their voice back
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To mark International Women's Day, Yaëlle Wormser, a PhD student at the Institut Pasteur and artist who goes by the name of Lady Pipette, revealed her new clip Mathilda, designed to shine a light on the "Matilda Effect," the bias that even now all too often minimizes or overlooks the contributions of female scientists, and to pay tribute to pioneering women in research.
Show your support on social media and share this message to inspire and encourage the next generation of scientists!
on LinkedIn
on Instagram
onTikTok
Profiles of Pasteurian women
What does it mean to be a woman in science today? Some of the Institut Pasteur's female scientists share their thoughts
For this issue of the newsletter, 15 female Institut Pasteur scientists whose research was recognized with awards in 2025 answer this question. Read on to find out what they think:
"For me, being a woman in science today means upholding the values of commitment, hard work and knowledge transfer, with the unwavering conviction that diversity drives scientific progress"
Marie Robert, PhD student in the Translational Immunology Unit
"Being a woman in science means forging a path for those women who will come after me, and trying to balance often contradictory requirements – producing research, publishing, supervising – while remaining true to what brought me here: a desire to understand, freedom to think, determination to share knowledge."
Carmen Buchrieser, Head of the Biology of Intracellular Bacteria Unit
"Being a woman in science means pursuing a career that you are passionate about, with the added responsibility of showing that scientific excellence has no gender and is enhanced by diversity."
Mélanie Hamon, Head of the Chromatin and Infection Unit
"Being a woman in science today, for me, means following my curiosity, exploring new ideas freely, and helping make the role of women in research increasingly visible."
Leah Friedman, PhD student in the Physics of Biological Function Unit
"Being a woman in the field of science means exploring the data that fascinates us all, while expressing sometimes uncomfortable ideas and pushing the boundaries so that the women who come after us won't face as many obstacles in pursuing their passion!"
Molly Ingersoll, Head of the Mucosal Inflammation and Immunity team
“Being a woman in science means harnessing your creativity to propose unique solutions. It's also about demonstrating rigor, perseverance and passion, while inspiring young people to push back the limits imposed by society."
Sabrina Mechaussier, postdoctoral fellow in the Plasticity of Central Auditory Circuits Unit
Check out the "Les Pasteuriennes" exhibition in Paris' 15th arrondissement, from March 6 to 24
To mark International Women's Day on March 8, in partnership with the Institut Pasteur, the Town Hall in the 15th arrondissement is hosting an exhibition showcasing the profiles of ten female Institut Pasteur scientists, highlighting how the diversity of the Institut Pasteur's teams is serving science and human health. The exhibition will run until March 24. Entry is free and open to all.
Claire Pujol and Hajar Guedira, two female Institut Pasteur staff committed to improving the representation of women in science
More than five years ago, Nicolas Dray, a scientist in the Zebrafish Neurogenetics Unit, in collaboration with the Career Development Department (CARE, formerly MAASCC), launched a collaboration between the Institut Pasteur and the Rêv’Elles association.
The aim was to organize events to raise awareness on campus. Since 2013, the Rêv’Elles association has been offering innovative career guidance programs for girls from working-class backgrounds. Every year since 2020, the Institut Pasteur has enabled groups of girls to come onto campus to find out about a wide range of different professions.
On April 24, 2025, as part of their work with the Rêv’Elles association, Hajar and Claire organized an event on campus. This day at the Institut Pasteur was an opportunity for nine women aged 18 to 22 to see how a research laboratory works in practice and find out about professions in science and research, with the aim of helping them overcome the frequent phenomenon of self-censorship by widening their professional horizons.
The newsletter team is pleased to invite you to find out more about this lively event by listening to the dedicated podcast!
To listen to the episode (in French), click here
Tune in to find out how these nine young women got on during their day at the Institut Pasteur, which was a positive and enjoyable experience for all involved.
Hajar and Claire are excited to be working on the project once again this year:
“I am delighted to be involved with the Rêv'Elles association for another year alongside Claire Pujol. This year, for the first time, the girls will be asked to prepare questions in advance for our colleagues working in different professions on campus, so that the discussions are even more helpful. This is a great way to stimulate open and honest dialog about careers and professions, in line with the Institut Pasteur's ongoing efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Hajar Guedira
Training: useful resources on Pasteur Learn
To mark Women and Science month, a selection of resources on diversity and inclusion has been made available on Pasteur Learn. New content has been added to the Diversity and Inclusion playlist, such as "Tackling ableism," "Promoting gender equality and inclusion," "Tackling ageism," and "Promoting DEI on a daily basis: effective action and responses."
Check out the Diversity and Inclusion playlist on Pasteur Learn
asteur Learn, the Institut Pasteur's online training platform, provides accessible resources in various formats – courses, podcasts, articles, etc. – for the entire campus community, available at any time.