Gilles Bloch

Gilles Bloch (born 19 July 1961) is a French polytechnicien, doctor of medicine and researcher in molecular biophysics, specializing in muscle and brain metabolism. He was director general of research and innovation from 2006 to 2009, then president of Paris-Saclay University between 2015 and 2018, and president of Inserm between 2019 and 2023. Since September 2023, he has served as President of the National Museum of Natural History, France.

Biography Gilles Bloch was born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe on July 19, 1961.

Studies He entered the École polytechnique in 1981, and then studied biophysics and medicine: he obtained a PhD in molecular biophysics in 1989 from the Pierre-et-Marie-Curie University, and a PhD in medicine in 1991 from the Paris-Diderot University.

He also holds a Habilitation to Supervise Research. In February 2005, François d'Aubert chose Gilles Bloch as the first director of the new National Research Agency (ANR), whose purpose is to fund public research and "partnership" research in France. Presenting an initial assessment after nine months, Gilles Bloch is pleased with the smooth running of the agency. Gilles Bloch acknowledged "youthful errors" in an assessment that was called into question by the publication of the report La recherche sans qualités: un audit indépendant de l'Agence nationale de la recherche by Marc Flandreau.

In May 2006, he was appointed Director General of Research and Innovation at the Ministry of Research. Gilles Bloch is thus an important player in the organization of research in France, an organization based on:

orientation: definition of major national policies (creation of the Strategy Directorate, the High Council for Science and Technology) programming: translating objectives into research programs (creation of agencies that have since been merged into Oséo) implementation: creation of tools available to operators, in particular to help create world-class leaders, build local strategies and strengthen partnerships with companies. In 2007, Valérie Pécresse, the new Minister of Research, confirmed Gilles Bloch as Director General of Research and Innovation. He entrusted Jean-Pierre Alix with a mission on scientific integrity, which led to a report in September 2010. On September 1, 2009, a press release from the Ministry indicated that he was leaving his position at his own request. He was then appointed head of the Life Sciences Directorate, one of the five directorates of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission.

He is particularly active in promoting the integration of young PhDs into the business world.

Gilles Bloch chaired the scientific interest group "Infrastructures in biology, health and agronomy" created in May 2007 and the Conference of University Presidents (CPU), and the two directorates DGRI and DGES of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. He is vice-president of the FondaMental Foundation founded by Valérie Pécresse, a scientific cooperation foundation dedicated to mental illness, which he chaired in 2011.

On June 10, 2015, Gilles Bloch was elected President of the University of Paris-Saclay by the Board of Directors of the ComUE, succeeding Dominique Vernay who had held this position since January 2015. At the same time, he became President of the Paris-Saclay Scientific Cooperation Foundation, which coordinates the campus operation and the Idex project.

On November 26, 2018, Gilles Bloch was appointed President of Inserm. He took office on January 2, 2019. On January 13, 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron chose Professor Didier Samuel, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Paris-Saclay, to succeed him as President of Inserm.

In September 2023, Gilles Bloch became President of the National Museum of Natural History, France, succeeding .