Julie Rouzet

After graduating as an engineer in agronomy, I pursued a Master’s degree in Predictive and Integrative Animal Biology, at the Université Paris-Saclay. It allowed me to go into animal physiology in depth, but also to discover new ways of studying animal physiology in laboratories, some of them including the development of models in order to avoid animal experimentation. My final year internship, hosted by the UMR BIPAR of ANSES/ENVA laboratories, focused on the development of ex-vivo models in order to study host/pathogen interactions between Toxoplasma gondii and the feline mucosa. I was particularly sensitive to both the subject and the tools used for the experiment, and, thanks to the obtaining of the EUR-LIVE grant, I am now able to specialize in this field of expertise thanks to a PhD degree. In the future, I would like to keep working on the study of animal physiology, in association with the development of alternatives to animal experimentation. 

Research project: 

‘Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Estimations established that the disease affects about a third of the global population. Human infection by the parasite is mainly due to the consumption of raw/undercooked meat from infected animals, but can also occur while ingesting contaminated vegetables or water. T. gondii can affect any warm-blooded mammals, but only has one specific definitive host: the cat, in which it can fulfill its sexual reproductive cycle and release one of its infectious form, the oocytes, in the environment. No vaccine is currently available for humans, and some populations such as pregnant women or immunocompromised individuals are still at high risk of contamination, despite the preventive measures already established. One explanation can be that there is a lack of knowledge concerning the sexual reproductive cycle of the parasite in felines. Indeed, most studies on toxoplasmosis concerned intermediate hosts, where the infection leads to the formation of tissues cysts, and not to the production of oocytes. By combining different approaches, including cellular biology, immunology and transcriptomic, this project aims at identifying the factors of the feline mucosa implied in the host/pathogen interactions and in the induction of specific immune reactions, without resorting to experimentations on living animals. This project will also bring new knowledge on Toxoplasma gondii reproductive cycle by clarifying the host/pathogen interactions in felines, and may highlight new targets for treatments or adjuvants in vaccine strategies, which could better protect human health, animal health and the environment against T. gondii infections.’