Yasmine Belkaid • Docteur honoris causa
2025
Yasmine belkaid is an internationally renowned immunologist, specializing in the study of interactions between microbes and the immune system. Since January 2024, she has been Director General of the Institut Pasteur in Paris.
Yasmine belkaid will be awarded the title of Doctor honoris causa of ULiège on November 17, 2025, as part of the " Grandes conférences universitaires de l'ULiège " series of lectures.
After obtaining her baccalauréat in 1986, Yasmine belkaid went on to study biochemistry at the Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari-Boumediène in Algiers. During this period, she worked at the Institut Pasteur d'Algérie, focusing on improving diagnostic methods for leishmaniasis. The political context in Algeria led her to pursue her studies in France, where she obtained a DEA (post-graduate diploma) from the Université Paris-Sud. In 1996, she defended her doctoral thesis at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, focusing on immune responses to the Leishmania parasite.
After her PhD, she did a post-doctorate at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the USA, where she later became a full researcher. In 2002, she joined the Molecular Immunology Division at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. In 2005, she returned to NIAID as head of the Mucosal Immunology Unit. At the same time, she is an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Yasmine belkaid's research focuses on the mechanisms of host-microbe interactions, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract and on the skin. She has contributed to the understanding of how the immune system distinguishes beneficial microbes from pathogens. Her work has also highlighted the role of beneficial skin bacteria in immune defense and wound healing. In addition, she has studied the impact of microbiota imbalances on chronic inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease and psoriasis.
Throughout her career, Yasmine belkaid has received numerous awards, including the Gold Medal of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2013, the Sanofi-Institut Pasteur Prize in 2016, and the Robert Koch Prize in 2021. She is also a member of several prestigious academies, including the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine in the USA.
In her public statements, Yasmine Belkaid emphasizes the importance of preserving the fundamental values of science and promoting diversity within society. Her ability to combine academic and scientific excellence with courage, openness and commitment to the common good makes her a role model for all those working towards a fairer, more rational world.
