Thomas Koelblen, M.Sc.

Thomas Koelblen is a Research Assistant Scientist in the Department of Pharmacodynamics. He graduated a B.S. in biotechnologies from University Paris-Sud at Orsay in 2009, then a M.Sc. from the University Paris-Sorbonne, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE) in 2011. During his M.Sc., he worked at the French National Institute for health and Medical Research (INSERM) where he studied how variations in the 5’ UnTranslated Region (5’UTR) were affecting the translational regulation of HIV structural genes. After graduating, he joined the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS) as Research Engineer in biochemistry and biophysics from 2012 to 2017. His research focus was to characterize the structure of Brucella’s virulence factor (Btp1), and to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the interaction between the infected human cells and Helicobacter pylori’s type IV secretion systems. He then moved to the US in 2017 to joined Dr. Burris’s team at Saint Louis University school of Medicine, then Washington University in Saint Louis, and now University of Florida.

Koelblen is leading research on multiple Nuclear Receptors (NRs) responsible of the regulation of metabolism in humans. NRs are ligand regulated transcription factors, making them key targets to treat human diseases such as diabetes, obesity, or Alzheimer’s disease. His focus is to produces pure NRs ligand binding domains, and to develop new biochemical assays to screen innovative molecules on those targets. His work led to numbers of collaboration with other academic institutions (Dartmouth, Washington University in Saint Louis, Maastricht University, Tulane University), and with multiple pharmaceutical companies (Pelagos pharmaceuticals, Myonid Therapeutics, Asteroid Therapeutics).