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Supervisor

Benoit Couturaud

Associate Professor

Institut de Chimie et des Matériaux Paris Est (ICMPE), CNRS

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“Biofilms are remarkably good at surviving – luckily, scientists are even better at refusing to let them win. HEAL-4WARD is about bringing together curious minds, different expertise and a healthy amount of stubbornness to take on one of medicine’s most persistent enemies.”

Background

Scientific background

Benoit Couturaud has been a Maître de Conférences at the Institut de Chimie et des Matériaux Paris-Est (ICMPE) since 2018. He obtained his PhD from the University of Montpellier in 2013, followed by a postdoctoral position with Prof. Patrice Woisel at UMET in Lille. He then joined the University of Nottingham, working with Profs. Morgan and Cameron Alexander.In 2016, Benoit was awarded an individual Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship, in collaboration with Prof. Rachel O’Reilly at the University of Birmingham and Prof. Kristofer Thurecht at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.Over the years, he has developed an interdisciplinary research programme combining polymer chemistry, soft matter and nanomedicine. Benoit has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications.

Personal background

Benoit Couturaud is driven by a curiosity about how polymer architecture, molecular design and self-assembly can be translated into functional materials with real-world applications. His career across several international research environments has shaped a strong interest in collaborative and interdisciplinary science.He particularly enjoys working with and mentoring young researchers, developing new research ideas and building collaborations that bring together complementary expertise. Through HEAL-4WARD, Benoit is especially motivated by the opportunity to connect polymer chemistry with biology and clinical challenges, while helping young scientists develop both their scientific expertise and their ability to work across disciplines.

key publications

 

  • Nguyen, T. P. T.; Lei, L.; Dixon, E. G.; Le Coeur, C.; Taresco, V.; Debuigne, A.; Couturaud, B.* Poly(ɛ-L-Lysine)-Decorated Particles with Tunable Morphology by Combination of Ugi Multicomponent Polymerisation and RAFT-Mediated PISA. Chem. 2025,16, 3041 – 3050. Themed collection : Emerging Investigators Series.

 

 

 

Project Involvement and Roles

As WP6 Coordinator of HEAL-4WARD, Benoit Couturaud coordinates the project’s dissemination, communication and exploitation activities across the consortium.

  • He coordinates WP6, “Dissemination and Communication” (M1–M48), overseeing the communication and dissemination strategy, scientific outreach and project deliverables.
  • Benoit is the principal supervisor of DC6 at CNRS-ICMPE, whose research focuses on antimicrobial polypeptoid-based nanoparticles and biohybrid hydrogels using Ugi multicomponent reactions and PISA.
  • He also coordinates international collaborations and doctoral mobility, notably with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Current activities

At the Institut de Chimie et des Matériaux Paris-Est (ICMPE), CNRS-UPEC, Benoit Couturaud leads research at the interface of polymer chemistry, soft matter and nanomedicine. His research focuses on the design, synthesis and self-assembly of functional polymers, particularly through RAFT polymerisation, multicomponent reactions and PISA, to develop stimuli-responsive, degradable and nanostructured systems for biomedical applications.

He combines macromolecular engineering with advanced physicochemical characterisation, high-throughput experimentation, automation and machine learning to accelerate the development of functional polymeric nanomaterials. Alongside his research, Benoit teaches polymer chemistry, spectroscopy and materials science, supervises students and early-career researchers, and contributes to doctoral training, international collaborations and the development of interdisciplinary research projects.