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CNRS Researcher – Group Leader

Research activities

I have been a researcher at the CNRS since 2006 and head of a research group within the team Pathophysiology of ion channels since 2011.

My research focuses on two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channels, a family of ion channels involved in the control of cellular excitability. Within a team historically recognized for its expertise in the molecular biology of K2P channels, I have developed a research activity oriented towards their pathophysiological implications and pharmacological potential.

I am currently coordinating two main research projects:

  • Understanding K2P channel heteromerization in order to identify new regulatory mechanisms and develop specific pharmacological modulators.
  • Investigating the role of K2P channels in pain, from the fundamental mechanisms of nociceptive transmission to their validation as new therapeutic targets for the development of innovative analgesics.

Career path

The study of ion channels has been the central theme of my scientific career. Trained within leading international teams, I have progressively developed expertise ranging from molecular biophysics to the pharmacology and pathophysiology of ion channels.

  • 1997–2000 : Doctorate (PhD), INSERM, Marseille. Recipient of a scholarship from the Ministry of Research and winner of the Thesis Prize.
  • 2000–2006 : Postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in the laboratory of Professor Lily Y. Jan, funded by a six-year fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
  • Since 2006 : Researcher at the CNRS
  • 2016 : Habilitation to Supervise Research (HDR), Université Côte d'Azur.

Research Management

I lead a research group composed of 6 to 8 people, bringing together a CNRS researcher, an assistant engineer, a post-doctoral student, doctoral students as well as Master's and BTS students.

Since the beginning of my career, I have led four doctoral theses and supervised numerous Master's students, engineering school and BTS students. A significant part of my activity is devoted to training young researchers and developing national and international scientific collaborations.

I also coordinate the scientific axis «"Biological membranes and pharmacology"» from the IPMC, which brings together seven research teams around the study of the constituents of biological membranes (lipids, ion channels, transporters, receptors and cytoskeleton) and the mechanisms that govern their organization, dynamics and functions. Scientific Focus Areas • IPMC

Furthermore, I am Deputy Director of the LIFE (Life and Health Sciences) University Research School of Université Côte d'Azur. This structure coordinates the training of more than 1,200 students in close interaction with nearly 1,000 researchers from nine research institutes affiliated with the CNRS, INSERM, INRAE, CEA and INRIA. Introducing EUR LIFE – Life

Teaching and training

Since 2024, I have been coordinating the International Master Erasmus Mundus MemBioMed (From Membrane Biology to Neuroscience and Experimental Medicine), funded by the Erasmus Mundus+ program (€3.8 million). This international program aims to train around one hundred students between 2025 and 2030 in the fields of membrane biology, neuroscience and experimental medicine. MemBioMed Erasmus Mundus Joint Master

I also teach in several programs at Université Côte d'Azur, notably in the Master's program in Life Sciences, as well as at École Polytech Sophia Antipolis. Internationally, I regularly lecture at McGill University (Montreal, Canada).

I also organize international thematic schools dedicated to ion channels and biological membranes, including Channelopathies (2019) And Biomembranes (2022).

Recent funding

  • ANR K2PAIN (2024–2029) – Coordinator.
  • ANR IONIC (2023–2027) – Partner.
  • International Research Project (IRP) ION – CNRS / South Korea (2025–2030) – Coordinator.
  • PHC Orchid – France–Taiwan (2024–2025) – Coordinator.
  • Côte d'Azur University Postdoctoral Excellence Scholarship (2025–2027) – Coordinator.
  • PSI doctoral contract – Ion Channels (2026–2029) – Coordinator.
  • Industrial research contracts.
  • Team accredited by the Foundation for Medical Research (FRM) (2021–2025).

Collaborations

I am developing collaborations with several French and international teams specializing in neuroscience, pharmacology, physiology and structural biology, including:

  • Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology (IPMC, CNRS, France)
  • Institute of Functional Genomics (CNRS–INSERM–University of Montpellier)
  • Thorax Institute (INSERM–CNRS–University of Nantes)
  • University of Pavia (Italy)
  • McGill University (Canada)
  • Academia Sinica (Taiwan)
  • Gyeongsang National University (South Korea)

These collaborations combine approaches from biophysics, pharmacology, structural biology, physiology and neuroscience to better understand the role of ion channels in physiology and neurological diseases.

Events

12
Sep
2024
11:00 am
Conference
D. BICHET invites Dr SHI-Bing YANG

«Insights into the pathogenic mechanism of theTALK1-L114P channel in maturity-onset diabetes of the young»

IPMC
06
May
2025
Conference
Delphine BICHET invites Prof. Philippe SEGUELA

«Ion channels in pain circuits: from ASICs to the ACC»

IPMC
21
May
2025
11:00 am
Conference
Delphine BICHET invites Dr. Shi-Bing YANG

«Neural Circuit Basis of Social Investigative Behavior»

IPMC
19
Sep
2025
2:00 pm
Thesis
Thesis by Nicolas Gilbert

«"Role of THIK family two-pore potassium channels in nociception" Thesis supervisor: Dr. […]

IPMC

News

Publication
08
May
2024
Publication IPMC / Nature com. / Lesage Team

Link to Nature Communications Link to CNRS article: How a potassium channel is transformed into a sodium channel Link to […]
Event
14
Jan
2025
IPMC / Orientation Forum in Antibes

On Saturday, December 7, three Antibes schools organized, with their parents' associations, the Orientation Forum […]

Projects

Project
2025
Physiological and pathophysiological implication of the TRAAK channel.

Description: The laboratory is interested in potassium channels of the two-pore channel family, and more recently in […]

Publications

2026
Chatelain FC, de Oliveira BR, Grataloup G, Robert N, Alameh M, Thollet A, Montnach J, Feliciangeli S, Rio A, Bibault F, Bichet D, Bignucolo O, Extramiana F, Majumder R, Schott JJ, Probst V, Denjoy I, Lesage F, Loussouarn G, De Waard M, SPARC: a structural pathogenicity algorithm for risk classification of hERG variants., Europace 2026 Feb; 28(2): .
2025
Nicolas Gilbert, Franck Chatelain, Solène Gibaud, Thomas Lorivel, Ying-Ling Shen, Marie-Emmanuelle Kerros, Sylvain Feliciangeli, Frederic Fiore, Chih-Cheng Chen, Florian Lesage, Delphine Bichet, Two pore domain THIK2 channel is involved in acute and chronic pain signal regulation, BioRxiv, 2025, ⟨10.1101/2025.08.08.669258⟩.
2024
Chatelain FC, Gilbert N, Bichet D, Jauch A, Feliciangeli S, Lesage F, Bignucolo O, Mechanistic basis of the dynamic response of TWIK1 ionic selectivity to pH., Nat Common 2024 May; 15(1): 3849.
2023
Julie Do Nascimento, Marion Bichet, Julie Challant, Julie Loutreul, Stéphanie Petinay, Delphine Perrotte, Véronica Roman, Elodie Cauvin, Maëlle Robin, Mélissa Palos Ladeiro, Stéphanie La Carbona, Jean-Louis Blin, Christophe Gantzer, Alain Geffard, Isabelle Bertrand, Nicolas Boudaud, Toward better monitoring of human noroviruses and F-specific RNA bacteriophages in aquatic environments using bivalve mollusks and passive samplers: A case study, Water Research, 2023, 243, pp.120357. ⟨10.1016/j.watres.2023.120357⟩.
2022
Margaux Chene, Marina Sánchez-Rico, Carlos Blanco, Rachel Pascal de Raykeer, Cécile Hanon, Pierre Vandel, Frédéric Limosin, Nicolas Hoertel, Jean Adès, Charles Alezrah, Isabelle Amado, Gilles Amar, Ovidiu Andréi, Denis Arbault, Georges Archambault, Gilles Aurifeuille, Sarah Barrière, Céline Béra-Potelle, Yvonne Blumenstock, Hervé Bardou, Michèle Bareil-Guérin, Pierre Barrau, Claudine Barrouillet, Emilie Baup, Nadine Bazin, Béatrice Beaufils, Jalel Ben Ayed, Michel Benoit, Kader Beny..., Psychiatric symptoms and mortality in older adults with major psychiatric disorders: results from a multicenter study, European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 2022, 273 (3), pp.627-638. ⟨10.1007/s00406-022-01426-4⟩.
2021
Choveau FS, Ben Soussia I, Bichet D, Chatelain FC, Feliciangeli S, Lesage F, Corrigendum: Convergence of Multiple Stimuli to a Single Gate in TREK1 and TRAAK Potassium Channels. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12():795920.
2021
Choveau FS, Ben Soussia I, Bichet D, Franck CC, Feliciangeli S, Lesage F, Convergence of Multiple Stimuli to a Single Gate in TREK1 and TRAAK Potassium Channels. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12(): 755826.
2020
Lamyaa Khoubza, Franck C Chatelain, Sylvain Feliciangeli, Florian Lesage, Delphine Bichet, Physiological roles of heteromerization: focus on the two-pore domain potassium channels, The Journal of Physiology, 2020.
2019
Ben Soussia I, El Mouridi S, Kang D, Leclercq-Blondel A, Khoubza L, Tardy P, Zariohi N, Gendrel M, Lesage F, Kim EJ, Bichet D, Andrini O, Boulin T, Mutation of a single residue promotes gating of vertebrate and invertebrate two-pore domain potassium channels. Nat Common 2019 Feb; 10(1): 787.
2019
Thomas Denise, Sophie Divay, Marie dos Santos, Cécile Fournier, Lucile Girard, Aymeric Luneau, Practices of cooperation in healthcare: Sociological perspectives., IRDES, 8, 487 p., 2019, (IRDES publication. Sociology series), 978-2-87812-578-8.
2018
Soussia IB, Choveau FS, Blin S, Kim EJ, Feliciangeli S, Chatelain FC, Kang D, Bichet D, Lesage F, Antagonistic Effect of a Cytoplasmic Domain on the Basal Activity of Polymodal Potassium Channels. Front Mol Neurosci 2018; 11(): 301.
2015
Feliciangeli S, Chatelain FC, Bichet D, Lesage F, The family of K2P channels: salient structural and functional properties. J Physiol 2015 Jun; 593(12): 2587-603.
2015
Bichet D, Blin S, Feliciangeli S, Chatelain FC, Bobak N, Lesage F, Silent but not dumb: how cellular trafficking and pore gating modulate expression of TWIK1 and THIK2. Pflugers Arch 2015 May; 467(5): 1121-31.
2014
Delphine Bichet, Christophe Duranton, Hélène Hirbec, Stephan Kellenberger, Jean Mérot, Lauriane Ulmann, Fabien van Coppenolle, The 19th Ion Channel Meeting, September 2008, France, Channels, 2014, 3 (1), pp.69-72. ⟨10.4161/chan.3.1.7777⟩.
2013
Chatelain FC, Bichet D, Feliciangeli S, Larroque MM, Braud VM, Douguet D, Lesage F, Silencing of the tandem pore domain halothane-inhibited K+ channel 2 (THIK2) relates on combined intracellular retention and low intrinsic activity at the plasma membrane. J Biol Chem 2013 Dec; 288(49): 35081-92.
2012
Chatelain FC, Bichet D, Douguet D, Feliciangeli S, Bendahhou S, Reichold M, Warth R, Barhanin J, Lesage F, TWIK1, a unique background channel with variable ion selectivity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2012 Apr; 109(14): 5499-504.
2010
Stéphane Lafortune, Zbigniew Pokryszka, Candice Lagny, Delphine Charriere, Xavier Bichet, Towards a better knowledge of coal deposits potential to be CO2 storage reservoirs through a better characterization of adsorption processes of mixed CO2 and CH4 gas phases, Franco-Spanish Symposium on the Geological Storage of CO2, November 2010, Pau, France.
2010
Patel A, Sharif-Naeini R, Folgering JR, Bichet D, Duprat F, Honoré E, Canonical TRP channels and mechanotransduction: from physiology to disease states. Pflugers Arch 2010 Aug; 460(3): 571-81.
2010
Sharif-Naeini R, Folgering JH, Bichet D, Duprat F, Delmas P, Patel A, Honoré E, Sensing pressure in the cardiovascular system: Gq-coupled mechanoreceptors and TRP channels. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2010 Jan; 48(1): 83-9.
2009
Sharif-Naeini R, Folgering JH, Bichet D, Duprat F, Lauritzen I, Arhatte M, Jodar M, Dedman A, Chatelain FC, Schulte U, Retailleau K, Loufrani L, Patel A, Sachs F, Delmas P, Peters DJ, Honoré E, Polycystin-1 and -2 dosage regulates pressure sensing. Cell 2009 Oct; 139(3): 587-96.
2009
Bichet D, Duranton C, Hirbec H, Kellenberger S, Mérot J, Ulmann L, Van Coppenolle F, The 19th Ion Channel Meeting. September 2008, France., Channels (Austin) 2009; 3(1): 69-72.
2008
Philip Gottlieb, Joost Folgering, Rosario Maroto, Albert Raso, Thomas G Wood, Alex Kurosky, Charles Bowman, Delphine Bichet, Amanda Patel, Frederick Sachs, Boris Martinac, Owen P Hamill, Eric Honoré, Revisiting TRPC1 and TRPC6 mechanosensitivity., Pflügers Archiv European Journal of Physiology, 2008, 455 (6), pp.1097-103. ⟨10.1007/s00424-007-0359-3⟩.
2008
Gottlieb P, Folgering J, Maroto R, Raso A, Wood TG, Kurosky A, Bowman C, Bichet D, Patel A, Sachs F, Martinac B, Hamill OP, Honoré E, Revisiting TRPC1 and TRPC6 mechanosensitivity., Pflugers Arch 2008 Mar; 455(6): 1097-103.
2006
Delphine Bichet, Dorien Peters, Amanda Jane Patel, Patrick Delmas, Eric Honoré, Cardiovascular Polycystins: Insights From Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease and Transgenic Animal Models, Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2006, 16 (8), pp.292-298. ⟨10.1016/j.tcm.2006.07.002⟩.
2006
Bichet D, Peters D, Patel AJ, Delmas P, Honoré E, Cardiovascular polycystins: insights from autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and transgenic animal models., Trends Cardiovasc Med 2006 Nov; 16(8): 292-8.
2006
Bichet D, Grabe M, Jan YN, Jan LY, Electrostatic interactions in the channel cavity as an important determinant of potassium channel selectivity., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2006 Sep; 103(39): 14355-60.
2006
Grabe M, Bichet D, Qian X, Jan YN, Jan LY, K+ channel selectivity depends on kinetic as well as thermodynamic factors., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2006 Sep; 103(39): 14361-6.
2006
D. Bichet, D. Peters, Patel Aj, P. Delmas, E. Honore, Cardiovascular Polycystins: Insights From Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease and Transgenic Animal Models., Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2006, 16 (8), pp.292-298.
2004
Sandoz G, Lopez-Gonzalez I, Grunwald D, Bichet D, Altafaj X, Weiss N, Ronjat M, Dupuis A, De Waard M, Cavbeta-subunit displacement is a key step to induce the reluctant state of P/Q calcium channels by direct G protein regulation., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2004 Apr; 101(16): 6267-72.
2004
Bichet D, Lin YF, Ibarra CA, Huang CS, Yi BA, Jan YN, Jan LY, Evolving potassium channels by means of yeast selection reveals structural elements important for selectivity., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2004 Mar; 101(13): 4441-6.
2003
Delphine Bichet, Friederike Haass, Lily Yeh Jan, Merging functional studies with structures of inward-rectifier K+ channels, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2003, 4 (12), pp.957-967. ⟨10.1038/nrn1244⟩.
2003
Bichet D, Haass FA, Jan LY, Merging functional studies with structures of inward-rectifier K(+) channels., Nat Rev Neurosci 2003 Dec; 4(12): 957-67.
2002
Veronique Cornet, Delphine Bichet, Guillaume Sandoz, Isabelle Marty, Jacques Brocard, Emmanuel Bourinet, Yasuo Mori, Michel Villaz, Michel de Waard, Multiple determinants in voltage-dependent P/Q calcium channels control their retention in the endoplasmic reticulum, European Journal of Neuroscience, 2002, 16 (5), pp.883-895. ⟨10.1046/j.1460-9568.2002.02168.x⟩.
2002
Cornet V, Bichet D, Sandoz G, Marty I, Brocard J, Bourinet E, Mori Y, Villaz M, De Waard M, Multiple determinants in voltage-dependent P/Q calcium channels control their retention in the endoplasmic reticulum., Eur J Neurosci 2002 Sep; 16(5): 883-95.
2002
Geib S, Sandoz G, Cornet V, Mabrouk K, Fund-Saunier O, Bichet D, Villaz M, Hoshi T, Sabatier JM, De Waard M, The interaction between the I-II loop and the III-IV loop of Cav2.1 contributes to voltage-dependent inactivation in a beta-dependent manner., J Biol Chem 2002 Mar; 277(12): 10003-13.
2002
Sandrine Geib, Guillaume Sandoz, Véronique Cornet, Kamel Mabrouk, Odile Fund-Saunier, Delphine Bichet, Michel Villaz, Toshinori Hoshi, Jean-Marc Sabatier, Michel de Waard, The Interaction between the I-II Loop and the III-IV Loop of Cav2.1 Contributes to Voltage-dependent Inactivation in a β-Dependent Manner, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2002, 277 (12), pp.10003-10013. ⟨10.1074/jbc.M106231200⟩.
2001
Guillaume Sandoz, Delphine Bichet, Veronique Cornet, Yasuo Mori, Ricardo Felix, Michel de Waard, Distinct properties and differential β subunit regulation of two C-terminal isoforms of the P/Q-type Ca 2+ -channel α 1A subunit, European Journal of Neuroscience, 2001, 14 (6), pp.987-997. ⟨10.1046/j.0953-816x.2001.01728.x⟩.
2000
Delphine Bichet, Catherine Lecomte, Jean-Marc Sabatier, Ricardo Felix, Michel de Waard, Reversibility of the Ca2+ Channel α1–β Subunit Interaction, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2000, 277 (3), pp.729-735. ⟨10.1006/bbrc.2000.3750⟩.
2000
Ziad Fajloun, Edmond Carlier, Catherine Lecomte, Sandrine Geib, Eric Di Luccio, Delphine Bichet, Kamel Mabrouk, Hervé Rochat, Michel de Waard, Jean-Marc Sabatier, Chemical synthesis and characterization of Pi1, a scorpion toxin from Pandinus imperator active on K+ channels, European Journal of Biochemistry, 2000, 267 (16), pp.5149-5155. ⟨10.1046/j.1432-1327.2000.01577.x⟩.
2000
Andrew Escayg, Michel de Waard, David Lee, Delphine Bichet, Peter Wolf, Thomas Mayer, Janine Johnston, Robert Baloh, Thomas Sander, Miriam Meisler, Coding and Noncoding Variation of the Human Calcium-Channel β4-Subunit Gene CACNB4 in Patients with Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy and Episodic Ataxia, American Journal of Human Genetics, 2000, 66 (5), pp.1531-1539. ⟨10.1086/302909⟩.
2000
Z. Fajloun, R. Kharrat, Lin Chen, C. Lecomte, E. Di Luccio, D. Bichet, M. El Ayeb, H. Rochat, P Danny Allen, IN Pessah, M. de Waard, JM Sabatier, Chemical synthesis and characterization of maurocalcine, a scorpion toxin that activates Ca 2+ release channel/ryanodine receptors, FEBS Letters, 2000, 469 (2-3), pp.179-185. ⟨10.1016/S0014-5793(00)01239-4⟩.
2000
Delphine Bichet, Véronique Cornet, Sandrine Geib, Edmond Carlier, Stephen Volsen, Toshi Hoshi, Yasuo Mori, Michel de Waard, The I-II Loop of the Ca 2+ Channel α 1 Subunit Contains an Endoplasmic Reticulum Retention Signal Antagonized by the β Subunit, Neuron, 2000, 25 (1), pp.177-190. ⟨10.1016/s0896-6273(00)80881-8⟩.
1999
Denise Walker, Delphine Bichet, Sandrine Geib, Emiko Mori, Véronique Cornet, Terry Snutch, Yasuo Mori, Michel de Waard, A New β Subtype-specific Interaction in α1ASubunit Controls P/Q-type Ca2+ Channel Activation, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1999, 274 (18), pp.12383-12390. ⟨10.1074/jbc.274.18.12383⟩.
1999
Cécile Raymond, Bichet Delphine, Iborra Cecile, Martin-Moutot Nicole, Seagar Machael, Michel Dewaard, Antibodies against the beta subunit of voltage-dependent calcium channels in Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, Neuroscience, 1999, 90 (1), pp.269-277.
1998
Denise Walker, Delphine Bichet, Kevin Campbell, Michel de Waard, A β4 Isoform-specific Interaction Site in the Carboxyl-terminal Region of the Voltage-dependent Ca2+ Channel α1A Subunit, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1998, 273 (4), pp.2361-2367. ⟨10.1074/jbc.273.4.2361⟩.