We are a group of mouse neuroscientific researchers who work together to characterize gene function using an integrative approach from mouse genetics and systems biology to brain phenotyping, neuronal biology, animal behaviour and bioinformatics. We work in collaboration with the GAD team and clinicians worldwide to enable direct comparisons between mice and patients harbouring similar variants, offering unique insights into conserved neurodevelopmental processes.
We are recruiting !
Join us in Dijon if you are interested in genes, anatomy and behavior!
Technician Job
PhD Position

Members of the YALCIN Team in February 2023

Dr Binnaz YALCIN Assistant Professor
Dr Binnaz YALCIN (CV_Binnaz_YALCIN_Longversion_Sept2023)
Email: Binnaz.Yalcin@inserm.fr Phone: +33 3 80 39 66 60
Dr Yalcin have contributed to important aspects of disease genetics using high-throughput genetic, genomic methodologies and mice as genetic models of cognitive disorders. Her ambition has always been to pursue her career in functional and translational disease genetics at the highest level. Dr Yalcin received her D.Phil in November 2007 from the University of Oxford under the supervision of Profs Flint and Mott. During her postdoctoral training (2007-2011), she became interested in outbred mice for genetic studies. She discovered the complexity of genomic structure in mice and how it relates to phenotypic variation. In 2011, she secured an EMBO Fellowship allowing her to move to Switzerland. For her own independent career, she obtained an Ambizione Fellowship in 2013 to work on the neurobiology of intellectual disability. She set up her own laboratory in 2016 at the IGBMC (Strasbourg, France) through an international call. One year later, the High Council for the Evaluation of Research and Higher Education scored her team as “excellent to outstanding with great future prospects”. She presented her work at 49 International Conferences of which 11 were under a formal invitation. She has received 17 awards/prizes, the most recent being the International Mary Lyon Award in recognition for an early-stage independent female researcher. To fund her research, she raised and managed a cumulative sum of 3.0 million EUR and employed four PhD students, two postdoctoral fellows, one engineer and six research assistants (since 2016). She hosted in her laboratory more than 60 students worldwide at all levels (MSc, BSc, Intern, Assistants and ERASMUS). In 2019, she secured a tenured INSERM position (Assistant Professor equivalent) after being ranked Major in a national competition. She has 15 years of experience in mouse neurobiology and joined the Governance Board of the International Research Consortium for the Corpus Callosum and the International Mammalian Genome Society.

Dr Stephan COLLINS Senior Lecturer
Dr Stephan Christopher COLLINS (Full CV)
Email: Stephan.Collins@u-bourgogne.fr Phone: +33 3 80 39 66 68
Stephan holds a D.Phil from Oxford University in genetics of diabetes and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics working on metabolic syndrome and morbid obesity. After several years as an electrophysiologist in Prof Rorsman’s lab, he became interested in neurogenetics and joined Dr Yalcin’s team in 2016 to study mechanisms underlying comorbidities between cognition and obesity. Dr Collins has been a lecturer at the University of Burgundy-Franche-Comté since 2012. He provides a 196-hour service teaching in cell biology and animal biology for BSc students with additional teachings in genetics and neurosciences for MSc students. He has extensive experience in high-speed neuroanatomical data analysis, statistical analysis, project and database management and 3D imaging technology development.

Charlotte MONTILLOT PhD student
Charlotte MONTILLOT
Email: Charlotte.Montillot@inserm.fr Phone: +33 3 80 39 66 11
Charlotte joined the Yalcin lab in October 2019 where she is preparing her thesis. The general aim of her doctoral work is to understand the roles of VPS13B in the mammalian brain. Charlotte obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Burgundy-Franche-Comté and a Master’s degree in Neurobiology at Nice Sophia Antipolis University.

Lucile TONNEAU Technician
Lucile TONNEAU
Email: lucile.tonneau@iut-dijon.u-bourgogne.fr Phone: +33 3 80 39 66 11
Passionate about experimental work, Lucile joined the Yalcin lab in September 2022 to work on the genetic and functional characterization of WDR genes in the central nervous system using histology, animal behavior and electrophysiology.
Alumni members and their positions after leaving the lab
Visiting Professor
2016-2017 Christel Depienne
Postdoctoral fellow
2017-2018 Efil Bayam, IGBMC, Strasbourg, France (in collaboration with Dr J. Godin)
Graduated PhD students
2016-2021 Perrine Kretz, University of Strasbourg, France (10/03/2021)
2012-2016 Meghna Kannan, University of Strasbourg, France (23/11/2016)
2013-2017 Anna Mikhaleva, University of Lausanne, Switzerland (02/10/2017)
Engineer
2021-2022 Clémence Alibert, Inserm U1231 Dijon (currently PhD NeuroMyoGène)
Research Assistants
2020-2022 Sylvie Nguyen, CHU Dijon, France (in collaboration with Pr C. Thauvin)
2016-2019 Marie-Christine Fischer, IGBMC, Strasbourg, France
2016-2018 Christel Wagner, IGBMC, Strasbourg, France
2015-2016 Anais Duret
2015-2016 Helen Whitley (Medical student)
2014-2016 Rebecca Balz
Graduated MSc students (since 2016)
2022 Emilia Skutunova, University of Montpellier
2021 Benazir Peerally, University of Sorbonne, France
2021 Zineddine Allaoua, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté (Novolyze)
2021 Adam Lahmar, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2021 Axel Brocard, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France (Provepharm)
2020 Maxence Milhau, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté (Leyton, Canada)
2020 Bryan Capi, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2020 Jules Roussey, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2019 Charlotte Montillot, University of Nice Sophia Antipolis (currently PhD)
2019 Axel Da Costa Sousa, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2018 Marion Gaborit, University of Strasbourg (currently PhD INCI Strasbourg)
2017 Mathilde Kobler (Medical student), University of Strasbourg, France
2017 Maxime Meylan, University of Strasbourg (PhD 2022 Sorbonne University)
2017 Sebastian Ciscares-Velazquez, University of Strasbourg, France
2017 David Gualberto, University of Strasbourg, France (Merck)
2017 Gilles Leininger, University of Strasbourg, France
2016 Perrine Kretz, University of Strasbourg, France (PhD 2021)
2016 Nestor Demeure, University of Strasbourg (PhD 2021 ENS Paris-Scalay)
2016 Jonathan Delevoye, University of Strasbourg, France
2016 Laura Durieux, University of Strasbourg (PhD 2021 LNCA Strasbourg)
2016 Somasekhar Jayaram (currently PhD Geneva)
Graduated BSc students (*Awarded the UNIL Summer Undergraduate Research Programme)
2023 Manon Lescutier, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2022 Rim Elmahjri, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2022 Marion Bouiller, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2022 Lola Tanneur, Magistère Européen de Génétique, Paris Diderot
2021 Juliette Delmas, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2021 Juliette Henna, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2021 Salama Bou, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2021 Flavie Theveny, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2021 Suzie Lebee, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2021 Marie Thirion, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2021 Marity Dessolain, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2020 Gael Fleury, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2020 Gaspard Boursier, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2019 Nawal Yahiaoui, University of Strasbourg, France (MSc Institut Pasteur)
2018 Clara Bonnet, University of Poitiers, France (currently PhD Institut Curie)
2018 Paula Hahn, University of Strasbourg (currently PhD Karolinska Institutet)
2018 Maria Ossipenko, University of Strasbourg, France (MSc 2021)
2017 Sophie Lottiaux, University of Strasbourg, France (Clinical Manager Lyon)
2016 Dylan Huynh, University of Strasbourg, France (MSc 2019)
2016 Clara Casana Rico, University of Strasbourg, France (AbbVie Medical Affairs)
2016 Elizabeth Ramos-Morales, University of Strasbourg, France (PhD 2021)
2015 Luc Reymond (EPFL Lausanne)
2015 Sarah Arthur* (PhD 2021 Canada)
2015 Amicie De Pierrefeu (PhD 2018 CEA Paris, now at Ipsen)
Graduated Intern students
2023 Océane Musset, University of Troyes, France
2023 Emeline Richter, University of Troyes, France
2023 Elisa Mischler, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2022 Khadija Bayou, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2021 Maylis Joly, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
2020 Narjisse Kenani, University of Paris 18th, France
2019 Elisia Isturiz, Supbiotech, Paris, France (Veracyte IO)
2019 Nina Pigeonneau, University of Strasbourg, France
2017 Emeline Aguilar, University of Strasbourg, France
2016 Mariane Litt, University of Strasbourg, France (Transgene)
2016 Saranya Ott, University of Strasbourg, France
2016 Léo Gagliardi, University of Strasbourg, France (Syngenta)
2015 Kevin Navarro (Manager Account, Lausanne)
Student Assistants
2015 Mélina Gailly
2015 Isabelle Herr
2015 Amandine Delay
2015 Livia Chrast (Medical student)
2015 Lisa Haerri
Visiting International ERASMUS students (*Awarded the IGBMC Summer Research Internship Programme)
2018 Gulsah Evyapan, PhD student, Turkey
2018 Emina Makedona*, BSc student, Greece
2017 Ananya Pathak*, BSc student, India (Engineer New Delhi and Dublin)
2017 Ezgi Mehmetoglu, BSc student, Turkey
2016 Durna Kumruoglu, BSc student, Turkey