Portraits of the UM

Catherine Alix-Panabières is an international specialist in circulating tumor cells (CTC) and liquid biopsy. A professor of oncology at the University of Montpellier and director of the Laboratoire Cells Circulantes Rares Humaines et Biopsie Liquide (LCCRH), she is the originator of the term, and has opened up a wealth of research into cancer biomarkers present in the blood, with therapeutic prospects in the offing.

On August 1, 2024, astronomer Agnès Lèbre took over as director of the Observatoire de recherche montpelliérain de l'environnement (OREME). It's a natural move for the first UM researcher to include an observation service in her mission since 1996.

With a front-row seat to the digital revolutions, Edmond Baranes has been working on the economics of telecoms services for three decades. The Professor of Economics at the University of Montpellier was elected Dean of the Faculty of Economics in 2024.

A researcher at Montpellier's Mechanics and Civil Engineering Laboratory (LMGC), Katerina Ioannidou was awarded the CNRS Bronze Medal in 2024 for her work in statistical physics on porous concrete. Her research is helping to design materials capable of storing energy and sequestering carbon.

Awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Montpellier, Joan Guàrdia i Olmo is Professor of Behavioral Science Methodology in the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Barcelona (UB). Since 2020, he has also been its rector. He is committed to defending a Europe of teaching and research based on shared values.

In charge of a long-term study program on chickadees, Anne Charmantier is interested in the adaptation of these passerines to climate change and the urban environment. Director of research in evolutionary ecology at CEFE, she is a 2024 CNRS silver medalist.