Felix Leroy named EMBO Young Investigator

3 de December de 2024

• IN CSIC-UMH researcher Félix Leroy, is among the 27 scientists selected to join the EMBO Young Investigator Programme.
• Group leaders join an international network of nearly 800 life scientists and receive financial support.

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) has announced the selection of 27 life scientists as the newest members of the EMBO Young Investigator Programme. This programme supports young group leaders in Europe and beyond. Dr. Félix Leroy, who leads the Cognition and Social Interactions Laboratory at the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) in Elche, is one of the scientists selected to join the programme.

Photo: Felix Leroy, Associate Professor at the Institute for Neurosciences CSIC-UMH.

The new 4-year promotion of young investigators that starts in January will become part of an international network of nearly 800 current and former EMBO Young Investigators, Installation Grantees, and Global Investigators. They conduct research in diverse life science fields, ranging from cell and computational biology to immunology and neuroscience.

Networking opportunities for EMBO Young Investigators and their lab members are central to the programme. The young investigators, who receive an award of 15,000 euros, also benefit from training in laboratory leadership and responsible conduct of research, access to core facilities at EMBO in Heidelberg, Germany, and mentoring by EMBO Members. They can apply for additional grants, such as organizing or travelling to conferences.

Leroy, who has received this award to develop the research project ‘Neuronal circuits supporting cognition and social interactions in the mouse’, stated that it is a great honor to be named an EMBO Young Investigator: ‘This recognition rewards my journey from the beginning of my studies in biochemistry to systems neuroscience, including electrophysiology. I am eager to leverage the opportunities EMBO provides to foster collaborations and propel my research in new directions”, the researcher said.

For her part, the EMBO Director, Fiona Watt, highlighted: "EMBO welcomes the new young investigators, a group of exceptional scientists who represent innovation and excellence in their fields. The multidisciplinary EMBO Young Investigator Network they will join generates many opportunities for forming connections. We are delighted to support this next generation of scientific leaders and the collaborations they will form”.

Scientific Career

Félix Leroy (Paris, 1986) is a distinguished neuroscientist, who focuses his research on the intricate neural mechanisms underlying motivated behaviors such as sociability, aggression, and feeding. His work investigates how brain regions like the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex communicate with the hypothalamus to regulate these behaviors, with implications for understanding and treating neuropsychiatric disorders. Having honed his expertise at premier institutions like Columbia University in New-York and Paris Descartes University, the researcher brings a multidisciplinary approach, combining advanced neural circuit tracing, optogenetics, and behavioral assays.

Over his career, Leroy has garnered international recognition with honors such as his nomination to the Young Academy of Europe, and significant research grants, including the prestigious European Research Council Starting Grant (H2020-ERC-STG/0784, grant agreement n°949652). This grant supports his current project, which seeks to unravel the neural circuits driving innate motivated behaviors. His groundbreaking findings have been featured in leading journals like Nature, Cell and Molecular Psychiatry, advancing knowledge on topics such as social memory and aggression. Beyond research, the researcher has played an active role in mentoring aspiring scientists and organizing influential conferences on neuroscience, fostering collaboration and innovation in the field.

About EMBO

EMBO is an organization of more than 2,100 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences in Europe and beyond. The organization's major goals are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers, stimulate the exchange of scientific information, and help build a research environment where scientists can achieve their best work.

EMBO helps young scientists advance their research, promote their international reputations, and ensure their mobility. Courses, workshops, lectures, and EMBO Press publications disseminate the latest research and offer training in techniques to maintain high standards of excellence in research practice. EMBO helps shape science policy by seeking input and feedback from our communities and by following closely the trends in science.

More information: www.embo.org

Source: EMBO / Institute for Neurosciences CSIC-UMH (in.comunicacion@umh.es)