Sandrine SaganDeputy CEO for Science

The holder of a PhD in molecular pharmacology, Sagan was recruited by the CNRS in 1993, at the age of 28. A specialist in the chemistry and pharmacology of peptides, she was initially part of the Mechanisms of Enzymatic Reactions Laboratory, which subsequently became the Synthesis, Structure, and Function of Bioactive Molecules Laboratory, then the Laboratory of Biomolecules (Sorbonne Université/ CNRS/ENS-PSL)–which she directed from January 2014 to September 2020–and ultimately the Physical Chemistry and Chemistry of Living Organisms Laboratory on 1 January 2025.   

Her interdisciplinary research explores the chemistry of living organisms, notably the design and functioning of bioactive molecules using quantitative approaches, with a view to better understanding fundamental mechanisms.

Sagan joined CNRS management in October 2020 as the Deputy Scientific Director of CNRS Chemistry, and was reappointed for this position on 1 January 2025, before becoming the Director of CNRS Chemistry on 16 June 2025.

In addition to her research activities, from 2012 to 2016 Sagan was appointed to a section devoted to chemistry and living organisms at the National Committee for Scientific Research, along with various scientific advisory boards and panels for recruitment and assessment in both France and abroad. In 2023, she was named a Distinguished Senior Member of the Chemical Society of France.