Francois Anquez

I have a physics background with a master in optics and complex systems. I prepared my PhD in Lille, France, under the supervision of Pr. S. Randoux at PhLAM, where I studied the possibility of inducing mammalian (human) cell death using only laser light. This work introduced me to the physics of biological systems. I then moved to AMOLF, Amsterdam, in The Netherlands to join Pr. T. S. Shimizu's "systems biology" group, where I developed state-of-the-art optical microscopes to study bacterial chemotaxis. This postdoctoral position allowed me to question the role of cell-to-cell variability in biological systems.

Returned to Lille as a "maître de conférences" (lecturer), I now use quantitative imaging and apply concepts from systems biology to address questions related to human cancers. My work combines microscopy with machine learning and mathematical analysis to describe cancer cell behavior. Using optical microscopy and fluorescent reporters of cellular states, we monitor many live cells in both space and time. From this spatio-temporal data, we infer a finite set of rules that summarize the (non-linear) dynamical properties of a given biological system (e.g., gene regulatory networks or metabolic pathways). Such a (coarsed-grained) dynamical system can be used for in silico experiments. Altogether, going back and forth between experiments and theory allows us to capture the essential features of a given biological system.

In Lille, I initially focused on the cell-to-cell heterogeneity of cellular stress responses—a genetic switch activated when mammalian cells are exposed to external perturbations (such as cancer treatments). I now focus on the phenotypic plasticity of cancer cells. Using in vitro systems, we mimic certain aspects of tumor progression and metastasis. On one hand, we study cancer stem cells and their role in treatment resistance. On the other hand, we aim to shed new light on cancer cell motility and its role in metastasis.

Along this journey, I have gained strong expertise in (optical) instrumentation, statistical physics, and quantitative biology. I strive to share this knowledge and these competencies both as a faculty member and with the young scientists in my research group.

Hurbain et al. iscience 2022, modelling of metabolic pathway

Guilbert et al., FEBS 2020, cell-to-cell variability in stress response

Method and device to provide a microfluidic flow, US Patent App. 17/607,693, 2022,