Johanna Calderon: from Harvard University to UM

At 37, Johanna Calderon has an impeccable academic record. A thesis in three years, two post-doctorates, and aProfessor the prestigious Harvard University. All this has been punctuated by several awards (including the L'Oréal UNESCO Prize and the Solemn Prize in Medicine from the Chancellery of the Universities of Paris) and a list of publications that spans three pages of her CV. The latest success for the young researcher is that she has just been awarded a chair of excellence at the University of Montpellier, starting in January 2021.

The starting point for this transatlantic career was Johanna Calderon's curiosity about children's cognitive abilities. Her PhD in pediatric neuropsychology at Necker Hospital focused on the consequences of open-heart surgery on the development of young children. She sought to identify the effects of a lack of oxygenation to the brain—due to heart conditions and surgical practices—on neurocognitive development. She conducted her research first on cohorts of 3-year-olds, then on 8-year-olds.

A public health issue

Johanna Calderon made her first contributions to the field during her thesis and postdoctoral studies in public health at Inserm. "My work helped to describe the neurological development profile of children born with heart defects. I identified a list of very specific disorders that were rarely detected because the children generally have normal intelligence," explains the researcher. In particular, she provides evidence of autistic disorders, as well as other behavioral and attention disorders.

Straddling two disciplines—neurology and psychology—her work combines diagnoses of children's neurological development with standardized psychological tests. This is a primarily quantitative Anglo-Saxon neurodevelopmental approach. Her specialty in congenital heart disease is at the forefront in the United States. On the strength of her initial research results, she crossed the Atlantic in 2015. She first completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital, then took up a position in neuropsychology and psychiatry at Harvard University.

"Reintegrating into French research"

While his work contributes to fundamental research, he is particularly interested in transferring scientific knowledge into clinical practice in order to improve screening and diagnosis, as well as treatment. This latter objective is the culmination of his work: improving patients' quality of life, now that their survival is largely assured. This is a global public health issue, given that 1% of children are born with heart conditions.

Johanna Calderon will now continue her research in France, as she has been awarded an "attractiveness chair " funded by the MUSE project, which covers the cost of her position as well as that of a postdoctoral researcher. Two scientists who will be supported by a laboratory technician thanks to the support of the Montpellier University Hospital, and and will thus be able to contribute to developing "neuro-cardiac research from a whole-life perspective, from fetus to adult, which is a pioneering initiative in our country," she emphasizes.

And Montpellier is the perfect epicenter. Projects are already underway with two teams from Montpellier: Alain Lacampagne, deputy directorand future director of the PhyMedExplaboratory (UM, Inserm, CNRS, Montpellier University Hospital), and Pascal Amedro, head of pediatrics at Montpellier University Hospital. The young woman makes no secret of her delight at returning to her family. She adds that she can easily imagine living in the Languedoc city.

Regarding the program that allows her to return to France, Johanna Calderon praises it as "an attractive way to reintegrate into French research." While the American system provides access to substantial resources, seeking funding requires a great deal of energy, with no guarantee of continuity for research projects. She concludes: "The prospect of a future permanent position at a French research institution allows me to plan my research for the long term, throughout the patients' lives."

Johanna Calderon, Ph.D.

Doctor of Psychology 

Main awards, distinctions, and funding: 

• 2019–2021 – OFD Faculty Career Development Grant (PI)
• 2016–2019 – United States Department of Defense Grant (co-PI)
• 2016–2019 – Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Grant in Children’s Health and Development
• 2016 – International Neuropsychological Society (INS) Research Award
• 2015 – Christian Nezelof Award – IMAGINE in Pediatrics
• 2014 – L’Oréal UNESCO Postdoctoral Fellowship for Women in Science
• 2014 – Formal Thesis Award from the Chancellery of the Universities of Paris, Aguirre Basualdo/Robin Award in Medicine
• 2010 – ARCFA Pediatric Cardiology Research Award (€18,000)