OFFICERS OF E.C.A.

President: Pr. Jean-Michel Dupont

Universite Paris Cité
APHP.Centre, Service de Médecine Génomique des Maladies de Système et d'Organe Hôpital Cochin
27 rue du Fbg St Jacques
75014 Paris - FRANCE

Professor of Histology, Embryology and Cytogenetics at Paris Descartes University, Medicine Faculty,
Head of the Cytogenetic laboratory at Cochin Hospital in Paris.
General Secretary of ACLF (Association des Cytogeneticists de Langue Française - French Speaking Cytogeneticists Association) 2005-2008.
Head of the working group for the French national External Quality Control Scheme
Member of ECA Board of Directors since 2008, treasurer since 2009, Director of the European Advanced Postgraduate Course in Classical
Molecular Cytogenetics co-organized by E.C.A and two French Universities (Paris Descartes and Montpellier-Nîmes Universities)

Education:

1995 : MD in Biology, specialization in Human Cytogenetics
2001 : PhD in Human Cytogenetics

Fields of interest:

Constitutional cytogenetics, molecular cytogenetics, epigenetics, non invasive prenatal diagnosis, chromosome territories and chromatine arrangement inside the nucleus.

First Vice president: Dr. Kamlesh Madan

Department of Clinical Genetics,
Leiden University Medical Center,
Post Box 9600,
2300 RC Leiden,
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 72 5128953
Email: [email protected]

Member of the Board of Directors of the E.C.A. since 2000
Member of the Editorial committee of the E.C.A. Newsletter
Member of the teaching faculty of two International Courses

1967-1970 Medical Research Council, Harwell, UK (Cytogenetics research)
1970-1972 Medical Research Council, Oxford, UK (Clinical Cytogenetics)
1973-1974 Medical School, Liverpool, UK (Clinical Cytogenetics)
1974-2006 Clinical Genetics Department, Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, Amsterdam (Head of Clinical Cytogenetics Laboratory, Associate professor)
1975-1975 Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA (6-months visiting scientist)
2006-2009 Clinical Genetics Department, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden
2009 - Affiliated to the Leiden University Medical Centre

M. Phil in Cytogenetics, 1974 (London)
PhD in Human Cytogenetics, 1978 (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam)
Author of more than 90 publications

Second Vice president: Prof. J.S. (Pat) Heslop-Harrison

Department of Genetics and Genome Biology
University of Leicester
Leicester LE1 7RH / UK
Email: [email protected] - [email protected]

  • Professor of Molecular Cytogenetics, University of Leicester UK
  • Senior Fellow, Institute for Environmental Futures, UK
  • Professor, Genome Evolution, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
  • Previously Editor of several journals
  • Supervised 31 PhD students

Research:

Research and publications on genomics, genome and chromosome evolution, with a focus on animals and crops of agricultural importance. Research focuses on the major genome component, the repetitive DNA including tandem repeats (satellites) and transposable elements, and developing AI/Large Language Models for genomics. I am extensively involved in graduate teaching, scientific policy and research evaluation.

Fields of interest:

Chromosome evolution; cytogenetics; bioinformatics; polyploidy; mobile DNA; retrotransposons; genome assembly; translocations; recombination; endogenous viruses; retroviruses; molecular cytogenetics; LLMs; AI; PhD supervision; evaluation; dissemination

General Secretary: Prof. Mariano Rocchi

Dip. di Bioscienze, Biotecnologie e Ambiente
Campus Universitario
Via Orabona 4
70125 BARI / ITALY
Tel: +39 080 544 3371
Email: [email protected]

  • Full Professor of Genetics,University of Bari, Department of Biology, Bari, Italy
  • Degree in Biology, University of Rome Biologist at the Burlo Garofalo Hospital, Trieste (1976-1984)
  • Biologist at the Gaslini Pediatric Hospital, Genoa (1984-1988)
  • Visiting Scientist at the Wayne State University, Detroit (1988-1989)
  • Full Professor of Genetics, University of Bari, Department of Biology, Bari (1990-)
  • Director of the Dept. of Biology, University of Bari (2005-2015)
  • Editorial Board Member of the journal Cytogenetics and Genome Research (2005-2008)
  • President of the Scientific Programme Committee of the ECA (2010-)

Research:

Author of ~365 scientific publications in peer reviewed journals including Nature, Science, PNAS, Am J. Hum. Genet, Genome Research.

Fields of interest:

Karyotype evolution of primates; genomic studies in primates, the emergence of neocentromeres in clinical cases and in evolution

Constitutional cytogenetics, molecular cytogenetics, preimplantation genetic diagnosis

Treasurer: Franck PELLESTOR

Unit of Chromosomal Genetics
Arnaud de Villeneuve Hospital
Montpellier CHU
34295 MONTPELLIER cedex 5 FRANCE

Tel.: +33 (0)4 67 33 07 70
E-mail: [email protected]

  • Professor of Histology, Embryology and Cytogenetics at the Medicine faculty of Montpellier-Nîmes, University of Montpellier.
  • Head of the Chromosomal Genetics Unit and the Research Platform Chromostem, Montpellier CHU.
  • Member of the research unit INSERM 1183 « Genome and stem cell plasticity in development and aging » at the Institute of Regenerative Medicine and Biotherapies, Montpellier.
  • Member of the National University Council of Histology, Embryology and Cytogenetics (2010 - 2019)
  • Member of ECA board since 2023, tresurer since 2025.

Fields of interest:

Constitutional cytogenetics, molecular cytogenetics, prenatal diagnosis, meiotic segregation, human gametes and embryos, chromoanagenesis, genomic instability and plasticity, macroevolution.