Alice Balfourier

Alice Balfourier is an Assistant Professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), part of PSL University in Paris. She is affiliated with the Laboratory of BioMolecules (LBM - UMR 7203) and the Pole 'Peptides, Glycoconjugates and Metals in Biology'. Her research focuses on metal biodistribution, bioaccumulation, and intracellular fate, with particular interest in how metals impact biological pathways in both health and disease contexts. She is a permanent researcher in the METHROX group within the newly created 'laboratoire de Chimie Physique et Chimie du Vivant' (UMR 8228, CPCV).

Dr. Balfourier earned her PhD in Physics from the University of Paris (2016-2019), where she studied biotransformations and degradation of gold nanoparticles. Prior to that, she completed a Master of physico-chemistry of materials at UPMC (2016) and the ENS chemistry course (2013-2016), validated by the ENS diploma. Her postdoctoral work included research at EMPA and ETH in Switzerland (2020-2021) on magnetic nanoparticles and at the University of Paris (2019-2020) investigating cellular responses to metal ions.

Her research integrates bioinorganic chemistry with cellular biology to understand metal-nanoparticle interactions in biological systems. She employs transcriptomics approaches to study how metallic species impact cellular pathways, with applications in nanomedicine and understanding disease mechanisms. Her work spans from fundamental studies of nanoparticle biotransformation to therapeutic applications, particularly in inflammatory conditions and cancer. She utilizes advanced imaging techniques to track metal distribution at cellular and subcellular levels.

Dr. Balfourier's publication record shows a strong trajectory in nanotoxicology and bioinorganic chemistry, with recent work focusing on metal biodistribution, nanoparticle biotransformation, and therapeutic applications. Her research demonstrates an interdisciplinary approach combining physics, chemistry, and biology to address questions at the interface of nanotechnology and medicine. She has developed expertise in multimodal imaging techniques to track nanoparticles in biological systems over time.

As an educator, Dr. Balfourier teaches inorganic chemistry to undergraduate students and bioinorganic chemistry to master's students at ENS and the Chemistry and Life Science PSL master program. She is also responsible for coordinating ENS M1 abroad internships, demonstrating her commitment to student development and international collaboration.

She is part of a vibrant research group focused on 'Metals in Biology and Redox Homeostasis,' collaborating with chemists and biologists with complementary skills in organic synthesis, bio-inorganic chemistry, spectroscopy, imaging, and cell biology. The group works at the frontier of chemistry and biology, with particular interest in oxidative stress in various contexts including inflammatory diseases and cancer.