Projects

Completed at the Toulouse Cancer Research Center (CRCT) in the NetB(IO)² team led by Vera Pancaldi, funded by Janssen. The project focused on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), studying how the tumor microenvironment adapts and resists treatment.

Designed a multi-agent simulation with PhysiCell representing multiple cell populations — epithelial, mesenchymal, macrophages, fibroblasts, T cells — alongside core biological processes including hypoxia, immunosuppression, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The model highlighted the central immunosuppressive role of M2 macrophages in the pancreatic stroma.

Developed a tissue analysis pipeline for mIF and IMC images using Tysserand and MOSNA, wrapped in a graphical interface for laboratory use. Analyses identified immunosuppressive zones, cancer cell islands, and tertiary lymphoid structures with implications for immunotherapy response.

Initiated a generative approach using Markov Random Fields and Potts models to produce synthetic tissue networks from real patient statistics, enabling hypothesis testing without relying on scarce experimental data.

Supervised by Antoine Rimbert at the Institut du Thorax (Inserm, Nantes). The project examined non-coding genetic variants in 5'UTR regions of genes involved in familial dyslipidemia — LDLR, APOB, PCSK9, APOE — regions often overlooked in standard analyses but critical for translational regulation.

Built a reproducible analysis chain combining ANNOVAR for VCF/BCF annotation and MORFEE for 5'UTR variant interpretation. Deployed as a Nextflow pipeline, it processed local cohorts and the UK Biobank (200,000+ individuals), detecting rare potentially pathogenic variants across the human genome.