Claire Rougeulle is designated “chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite”

On November 12, 2021, Claire Rougeulle, coordinator of Labex Who Am I?, was named “chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite” at Le Havre town hall.

Team photo in the office of Édouard Philippe, mayor of Le Havre

From left to right: Valérie Mezger, Charbel Alfeghaly, Céline Morey, Louis Chauvière, Édouard Philippe, Claire Rougeulle, Jean-François Ouimette, Léo Carrillo, Emmanuel Cazottes, Kasturi Mahadik, Valérie Drouet

After being nominated by Christine Clerici, president of Université Paris Cité, Claire Rougeulle received on November 12, 2021 the medal of “chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite”.

Claire chose the city of Le Havre, where her family lives, and the mayor Édouard Philippe to proceed with the presentation of the distinction. The mayor’s well-documented speech retraced Claire’s unparalleled journey and her work, particularly on the inactivation of the X chromosome. He also underlined the interest in the work carried out within the Labex Who Am I? :
“It is quite rare that a Labex unite epigeneticists with philosophers and historians in a joyful and fruitful dialogue between so-called “hard” sciences and the so-called “human” sciences. The challenge is immense because everyone speaks and thinks in their language, but this Labex aims precisely to prevent everyone from asking questions on their own. The issues you raise are absolutely fascinating: how is identity transmitted? How does a cell resist, for example, stress? What continuity can we establish between how the cells of an embryo resist stress and how the young adult will resist it? Said like that, we really would like to know!”

Then, Claire also made a speech, thanking the people who have accompanied her during her career and underlining the difficulties she faces as a researcher in France. The evening ended with numerous discussions with the mayor and his team, between the living room and his office, with a view of the Town Hall square.