From chemistry to synthetic biology
Aurore Dupin has been a researcher at the CNRS since 2025, based at the Paul Pascal Research Centre in Bordeaux. That is where she conducts research at the interface of chemistry, physics and biology, as part of the Bio2.0 team, which specialises in complex systems inspired by living organisms. Trained as a chemist, Aurore Dupin has gradually turned her attention to synthetic biology, a rapidly expanding field that aims to understand the mechanisms of life using basic building blocks.
Synthetic biology involves designing and creating biological systems (such as cells or genetic circuits) that do not necessarily exist in nature, or reprogramming living organisms to give them new functions. Thanks to synthetic biology, it is possible to create living systems using the chemical building blocks of DNA.
Our aim is to gain a better understanding of how living organisms function.
Open and engaging science: the role of Choose France for Science
Aurore Dupin completed her PhD in Germany at the Technische Universität München, where she studied the spatial organisation of genetic circuits in artificial cells. She then undertook postdoctoral research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, working on antigen-antibody interactions using miniaturised devices. After five years in Israel at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Aurore Dupin decided to return to France. As part of the Choose France for Science initiative, she has joined the Paul Pascal Research Centre (CRPP) in Bordeaux.
Choose France for Science enables me to fund my laboratory for the next four years. This means purchasing state-of-the-art research equipment – specialised equipment specific to my field of research, which I need to develop the systems I am working on. It also means being able to hire students, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers.
