These two women know each other well, having worked together for a time before their aspirations and talents led them on different paths of research in neuroscience. They also have in common to conduct innovative research for which they have received awards.

Valérie Crépel, research director and head of the Neuronal Coding and Plasticity in Epilepsy lab at INMED

Thanks to her research and that of her collaborators, she filed a patent in 2012 and, thanks to investors, created a start-up in 2019: Corlieve Therapeutics, for the development of a genetic approach to the treatment of epilepsy patients. The start-up is acquired by the biotech company uniQure in 2021. She and her collaborator in this adventure, research director Christophe Mulle, receive the 2022 prize for scientific innovation from the Bordeaux Academy of Science, Literature and Arts.

Rosa Cossart, research director, head of the Developmental Scaffolding of Adult  Hippocampal Circuits lab and director of INMED

She is a long-time believer in the power of functional imaging in small animals to discover the principles underlying the organization and function of neural circuits. She has pioneered research on hub cells and neuronal assemblies in the hippocampus and cortex. The work of her laboratory has long been rewarded by prizes. Among them, the Life Sciences Prize of the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation (2019), the Allianz Institut de France Prize (2020) and recently the Roger de Spoelberch Prize (2021). In 2020, she was made an officer of the National Order of Merit.