Caroline Petit

Caroline Petit is a CNRS Researcher at the Cavaillès Center (USR 3608-République des Savoirs), a joint unit of CNRS, École Normale Supérieure, and Collège de France. Her work bridges historical scholarship with contemporary medical research, focusing on the articulation between scientific discovery and clinical practice in biological psychiatry and HIV/AIDS.

Trained as a biologist, she previously researched HIV replication and triple therapy side effects at the Pasteur and Cochin Institutes. She then worked in science communication at Inserm and science-society relations at IHEST (2008-2010, 2016-2019) before joining the Cavaillès Center for historical research on infectious theories of mental illness and HIV/AIDS.

Caroline Petit's research investigates the historical interplay between medical science and clinical practice, with dual foci on biological psychiatry and HIV/AIDS. She traces the century-long persistence of the infectious hypothesis in mental illnesses—particularly schizophrenia—examining how it challenges boundaries between constitutional/accidental, psychic/organic, and exogenous/endogenous factors. Her work connects historical analysis with contemporary microbiota research. Additionally, she studies the history of AIDS through Dr. Leibowitch's clinical archives, highlighting the dynamic relationship between scientific discovery and medical application. Her research interests span History of Medicine, Biological Psychiatry, HIV/AIDS Research, History of Science, and Science and Society.

Scientific Awards: No scientific awards were mentioned in the provided text.

Advising and Grants: The text does not provide details about students advised or research grants obtained by Dr. Petit.

Labs and Teams: Her research is based at the Cavaillès Center and utilizes the archives of Dr. Leibowitch, an AIDS clinician. No specific laboratory facilities or team structures are described in the source material.