Edith Heard is Director and CEO of the Francis Crick Institute, and Professor of the Collège de France. She studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge University (UK) and obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London. After a postdoc at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, she moved to the Institut Curie, where she became Director of the Genetics and Developmental Biology Unit in 2010, before becoming the EMBL Director General from 2019-2025. Edith’s laboratory specialises in epigenetics and the process of X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) whereby one of the two X chromosomes is silenced during female mammalian development. Her group has revealed the remarkable dynamics of X inactivation in development and disease, and provided key insights into the underlying mechanisms. Professor Heard has been elected to the Royal Society, the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine, and she is a member of the WHO Science Council.

 

🏅 Blaise Pascal Medal in Medicine and Life Sciences (2025)

Awarded in recognition of Prof. Edith Heard’s outstanding contributions to modern biology and medicine, particularly for her pioneering work on epigenetic regulation and X chromosome inactivation. Her research has fundamentally advanced our understanding of cellular memory and developmental processes, with important implications for neurological disorders, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.

Beyond her scientific achievements, Prof. Heard has provided exceptional leadership within European science, notably as Director-General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), and continues to play a significant societal role in supporting scientists affected by geopolitical crises.