OUR TEAM

Guillaume has over twenty years of experience in biotech enterprise, stem cell regulations and strategy development. He started his entrepreneurial career at the Genopole, France’s leading biotech cluster. He founded Physiogenex in 2003, a start-up that focused on preclinical validation and translational technologies dedicated to metabolic disorders, which was sold in 2009. Guillaume is also a recognized mentor to other biotech start-ups and board member of several biotech and non-biotech companies.

Bruno leads the the Science Department at Human Cell Design, providing the industry with physiologically and pharmacologically predictive functional human in vitro models. Bruno has extensive expertise in cellular systems and cell differentiation and specification control, with over ten years of experience in hPSC-derived models. He holds a PhD in Immunology from the Center for Immunology at Marseille-Luminy (CIML), where he worked on the genetic control of hematopoiesis and on central nervous system development. He has been an Assistant Researcher at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), where he developed several hPSC-derived models for autism spectrum disorders (ASD), receiving fellowships from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and from the Rett Syndrome Foundation (IRSF).

Hamza is a Business Developer at Human Cell Design. He obtained a pharmacy degree in 2014 from the Lebanese International University and a PhD from Aix Marseille University in 2019. During his career, he held several positions in community pharmacies in Lebanon. He also developed several strategic projects in Aix Marseille University and Sorbonne Université alliance with a specific focus on drug discovery and development. This helped him build a strong profile in research and communication. Currently, Hamza spends his time finding the missing link between researchers and the industrial world and remove all the barriers that may prevent their communication. Internationally driven, Hamza takes advantage of integrating his pharmacologist and industrial approach for successfully leading all his projects.

Nathan is a Business Developer at Human Cell Design. He obtained an engineer degree in Biochemistry at INSA Toulouse in 2019. He then developed a wide range of in vitro and in vivo skills during his thesis in Oncology at the Toulouse Cancer Research Center (CRCT) in 2022. The study of cancer stem cells has extended his expertise to metabolism, GPCR signalling and therapeutic target validation. The discovery of a key target in cancer led him to create an innovative start-up to develop a treatment against leukaemia in 2022-2023, with which he won the iPhD competition for the France 2030 program. This helped him build a strong profile in entrepreneurship with a broad scientific culture and a business development experience. Today, Nathan takes advantage of his academic and private experiences to build a bridge between scientific community and pharmacological drug development.

Clotilde Dumas is the Project Manager overseeing CRO Services at Human Cell Design, dedicated to ensuring the success of our clients’ projects. With a Doctorate in Pharmacy specializing in Pharmaceutical Industry Research, and multiple master’s degrees in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, she brings deep expertise in 3D tissue engineering and organ-on-chip technologies, particularly using iPSC-derived liver and pancreas models. With a client-centered approach, Clotilde is committed to guiding each project through every stage—from initial planning to final execution—while ensuring that every timeline, budget, and regulatory requirement are met. She works closely with cross-functional teams and acts as the central point of communication, ensuring that our client expectations are fully aligned with project objectives at all times.

Marion serves as the Beta Cell Manager at Human Cell Design, bringing over 15 years of extensive experience in cell biology and engineering. Throughout her career, she has successfully contributed to the development of various cellular models and analytical methods across diverse cell systems. Joining Human Cell Design in 2016, Marion has a deep understanding of beta cell biology. As a Senior Scientist/Engineer, she leads the research and development of novel assays and readouts using beta cells. Her role involves the development of innovative methods, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to push the boundaries of research in beta cell biology. Marion is driven by a passion for scientific exploration and innovation. She thrives on identifying opportunities for advancement and tailoring solutions to meet the evolving needs of our clients. In her role, Marion is committed to delivering robust and innovative research assays and contributing to the advancement of biomedical science.

Sonia is the principal scientist of the hepatocytes research at Human Cell Design. She has extensive expertise in cell biology, cell signalling and cell line generation using several cell systems. Sonia holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of Stuttgart, were she studied Flippases in cell biology as an EU Marie Curie fellow. Later she moved to Imperial College London as a Postdoctoral Research Associate where she studied for several years a liver specific transcription factor and gained expertise in hepatocytes biology and metabolism. Before joining Human Cell design, Sonia was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the CNRS studying cell signalling and neurodevelopmental disorders.

As the Operations Manager at Human Cell Design, Virginie brings over 10 years of experience as a biotechnology engineer to her role. She has previously held significant positions, initially as R&D Manager and later as Production Manager, in laboratories dedicated to microbiologic analysis. In these positions, she first led the development of innovative methods, using cutting-edge technologies such as multiplex and digital PCR, as well as Next-generation sequencing (NGS) systems before managing the laboratory operations, ensuring that processes provided utmost analytical support for manufacturing and validation operations, all while ensuring compliance with protocols, and safety regulations. At Human Cell Design, Virginie takes charge of the laboratory’s operational side, overseeing the entire supply chain. Her responsibilities span from the purchase of raw materials and logistics management to production and delivery of finished products to our customers worldwide. In her position, she is dedicated to upholding the triptych of Cost, Quality, and Delivery, ensuring the seamless functioning of our operations and offering our customers highest-quality products.

Marion is the Quality Manager at Human Cell Design. Based on 15 years of experience in biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, both in France and international, she ensures the effectiveness of the Quality System.
Joining Human Cell Design in 2018, bringing expertise ranging from R&D and services, Marion actively supports process improvement initiatives, ensuring that product specifications and development activities meet Human Cell Design’s rigorous quality standards.
As the regulatory landscape evolves, Marion is responsible to manage compliance activities to ensure adherence to regulations and guidelines. With a keen eye on industry trends, Marion keeps the company informed of emerging regulations and best practices, ensuring continuous alignment with regulatory requirements.
Her commitment to aligning product specifications and development activities with organizational objectives ensures we deliver the highest-quality products and services to our customers while adhering to regulatory standards.

Raphael Scharfmann obtained his PhD in 1989 at Université Paris VII, France. He then did a postdoc at the Salk institute, La Jolla, CA (1989-1991) and obtained a permanent position at INSERM at the end of 1991. He obtained the prestigious Minkowski Award (for distinguished research in the field of Diabetes in Europe) (1999), the Award from the European Society for Clinical Investigation (2003), the Award from the French National Academy of Medicine (2010) the Bettencourt Award, (Coup d’élan à la Recherche Française) (2012) and the Roger Assan Award from the French speaking society of Diabetologia (2020). He is currently Research Director at INSERM within the Cochin Institute, University of Paris, France. He is one of the cofounder of EndoCells/UniverCell Biosolutions, a French biotech company. The major objective of his group is to define signals regulating functional pancreatic beta cell mass in rodents and humans.

Dr. Paul Czernichow graduated from the University of Paris Medical Faculty, in 1965. After completing specialty training in Paediatrics, he worked as a research fellow in the USA, Switzerland and France. He was appointed Professor of Paediatrics in 1976 and in 1988 Head of the Department of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Hôpital Robert Debré in Paris. During that period, he developed an INSERM research unit focusing on the clinical aspects of diabetes, as well as studying more basic aspects, like molecular mechanisms of the development of the endocrine pancreas. Professor Czernichow’s interest has always been the clinical and basic aspects of developmental endocrinology and growth with a strong involvement in the clinical and basic investigation in the area of diabetes in children. In recognition of this work, he received the Andrea Prader prize during the ESPE-LWPES joint meeting in Montreal in 2001.

Philippe Ravassard obtained his PhD in 1996 at Université Pierre & Marie Curie. He next trained as a postdoc at McGill University, Montréal Canada (1997-98) and has a permanent position at CNRS since 1999. He is presently PI and group leader at ICM (Paris Brain Institute). He was the first to clone, in a rat, the transcription factor Neurogenin3 (ngn3), the key regulator of endocrine differentiation in the pancreas. He is an expert in the field of viral gene transfer and cell engineering. At ICM, his main objective is to develop human stem cell derived models (2D and 3D) to study molecular aspect linked to non-coding elements in neurodegenerative disorders. In this context, he recently obtained awards from The Edmond J. Safra philanthropic foundation and from MSD-AVENIR. He is one of the co-founders of EndoCells/UniverCell Biosolutions.

Dr. Puceat is senior INSERM Research Director and group leader at the UMR_S910 in Marseille, specialized in cardiac development. He has worked with mouse embryonic stem cells and embryos since 1996 and was one of the first to work on human ES cells and then iPSC. Since 1996 (mouse model) and 2005 (human stem cells), his group has been studying the earliest elements of the genetic and epigenetic pathways that control cardiogenesis. Dr. Puceat has recently spent a 12-month sabbatical in the laboratory of Dr Evans (UCSD), one of the leading groups world-wide working on cardiac development. Dr. Puceat has been the coordinator of the Transatlantic network of excellence SHAPEHEART (Leducq Foundation) and is part of the IMI StemBANCC European network.