Rodolphe Fischmeister: a pioneer in cardiac cellular electrophysiology

Some journeys, through curiosity and daring, open up new horizons. This was the case with Rodolphe Fischmeister. The son of Czechoslovakian political refugees, he was raised in a family culture that strongly valued integration and achievement through education. He was a good student of mathematics and physics, joining Supélec in 1975, just as the school was setting up on the Saclay plateau. "I didn't have any real career plans at the time. It wasn't until I became an engineering student that I began to think about my future, and I realised that engineering was not going to be enough for me," says the researcher.

His interest in the medical field prompted him to take a degree in physiology at the Orsay faculty of science, alongside his education at Supélec. Although this bold gamble plunged him into a period he himself describes as "schizophrenic", it also led him to cross paths with Édouard Corabœuf, an important figure in cardiac physiology. After graduating from Supélec in 1978 and moving into research, he pursued a PhD in engineering on the mathematical modelling of cardiac electrical activity, in professor Corabœuf's laboratory, under the supervision of Guy Vassort. This was an opportunity to put his engineering skills to work on a biological issue.

The discovery of a key technique in the United States: patch clamping

After obtaining his PhD in 1980, his career continued across the Atlantic, with a first post-doctoral fellowship at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, where he continued his modelling work on calcium channels, crucial players in cardiac function. A second step, at Emory University in Atlanta, with cardiac embryologist Robert DeHaan, was a key turning point for Rodolphe Fischmeister. "It was there that I discovered the patch clamp, a revolutionary technique invented in Europe for studying the electrical activity of living cells. I had no experience of experimental biology, so I had to learn on the job," recalls the researcher. He then threw himself into learning and implementing this method, which would transform his career and the study of cellular electrophysiology.

Back to France: the patch clamp for the heart

Armed with this experience, Rodolphe Fischmeister was recruited by Inserm in April 1983 as a research fellow in the laboratory where he had completed his thesis. He introduced the patch clamp technique, contributed to its development in France and continued his research into calcium channels and their role in cardiac function. "Between 1986 and 1987, I had the chance to welcome an American colleague to my unit, whom I had met during my stay in Atlanta. Together, we explored the interactions between cyclic nucleotides (cAMP and cGMP) in the cardiac cell, leading to several major publications in prestigious journals." This successful collaboration helped lay the foundations for his subsequent research.

Creating his own laboratory: an interdisciplinary vision

In the early 1990s, the researcher decided to take up a new challenge and set up his own Inserm research unit at the faculty of pharmacy of Université Paris-Sud (now Université Paris-Saclay), in Châtenay-Malabry. Surrounded by a team partly drawn from his previous laboratory, he set up this new structure and worked hard to drive scientific activity on the site, invite renowned researchers and create a collaborative dynamic.

Driven by a strong interdisciplinary outlook, he stepped up exchanges with other scientific communities, particularly therapeutic chemists. "Over the course of our discussions, we established interdisciplinary collaborations that gave rise to innovative projects, such as the study of molecules that act on serotonin receptors in the heart, and opened up new fields of research for our laboratory," recounts the researcher. He also established collaborations with local hospitals to gain access to human heart tissue and began to recruit complementary profiles, notably in molecular biology.

His laboratory, which he headed until 2015, gradually became a place of innovation and successful collaboration, with Rodolphe Fischmeister focusing his research on cell signalling, in particular the role of different phosphodiesterases in the degradation of cyclic nucleotides and their intracellular compartmentalisation.

Unity for innovation: building a research ecosystem

His unifying spirit subsequently led him to play a major role in structuring research within the faculty of pharmacy. He initiated the creation of a federal research institute (IFR), focused on therapeutic innovation and, despite initial resistance, succeeded in uniting biology and chemistry laboratories and setting up shared technology platforms. "We set up a participatory financing system to ensure the long-term future of this structure, which I was fortunate enough to manage during three mandates between 2000 and 2020. This enabled the IFR to grow and become a joint service unit (UMS IPSIT), which now boasts eleven technology platforms." Rodolphe Fischmeister's commitment and dedication earned him the position of vice-dean for research at the Faculty of Pharmacy in 2015.

The Paris-Saclay adventure: an early player

His role as a driving force became even broader with the creation of Université Paris-Saclay. As a key player in the design and management of the laboratory of excellence in research on medication and innovative therapies (LabEx LERMIT), accredited in 2011 as part of the PIA (Future investments programme), he helped to bring together some 15 laboratories with complementary expertise. "Our aim was to stimulate drug research and innovative therapies on the Saclay plateau." He was involved in creating the future university, together with the directors of the other LabExs in the region. He was also actively involved in discussions aimed at structuring the life sciences, driven by the desire to build bridges. He was director of the life sciences department for four years, then, when Université was founded in 2020, deputy vice-president of research for life sciences.

A purposeful retirement: serving the scientific community

Although he retired in 2022, his passion for science and his commitment to the scientific community at Université Paris-Saclay remain intact. "As part of a mission with Université's vice-presidency for research, I am enthusiastic about continuing to run the weekly newsletter dedicated to the life sciences, initiated by the life sciences department. And on the scientific front, having obtained new funding from the French national research agency (ANR), I am still involved in a research project on cardiac cell compartmentalisation," explains the researcher, who is also Inserm's scientific advisor for the Université territory.