Professor Jean Paul Thiery is a distinguished French biologist born on April 25, 1947, who currently serves as Senior Research Fellow and Professor at the National Laboratory in Guangzhou. He also holds the position of Chief Scientist at BioSyngen since 2024, building upon his extensive career in cellular biology and cancer research. Previously he served as Advisor to the Dean of NUS Medicine from 2005 onward and was Head of Department and Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine from 2012 to 2015. An Emeritus CNRS Researcher since 2010 Professor Thiery has maintained influential roles across multiple international institutions including the National University of Singapore University of Hong Kong and Faculty of Medicine in Bergen Norway.
Professor Thiery is renowned for pioneering research on epithelial-mesenchymal transition EMT in cancer progression a field he helped establish as critically important for understanding carcinoma metastasis. His landmark 2003 paper Epithelial mesenchymal transitions in development and pathologies has garnered over 2200 citations and fundamentally shaped contemporary understanding of cellular mechanisms in cancer. Earlier in his career he discovered the first intercellular adhesive molecule N CAM and established techniques for measuring cell detachment forces demonstrating the crucial role of the cortical actin cytoskeleton in intercellular adhesion. With an impressive publication record of 480 papers Professor Thiery's work has accumulated over 55000 citations with an H index of 110 reflecting his substantial impact on cell biology and cancer research.
Professor Thiery's contributions have earned him recognition as the second ranked scientist in the World's Top 2 Clinical Scientists 2022 published by Stanford University researchers. Even at age 75 he remains actively engaged in laboratory research and continues to develop innovative therapeutic strategies based on EMT reversibility to enhance target therapies and immunotherapy. As Chief Scientist and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board at BioSyngen he mentors researchers and works collaboratively to develop cell therapy pipelines targeting both solid and blood cancers. His ongoing research represents a vital bridge between fundamental cell biology discoveries and their clinical applications maintaining his position as a leading authority in cellular mechanisms of cancer progression and treatment.
