SPARKee 2023 winners revealed! Focus on Claire Leibler

During the Covid, the SPARK program was put on hold, but this year it resumes successfully. The two selected researchers are Claire Leibler and Rodrigue Rossignol.

They will each receive an awarded funding of 75,000 euros. They will benefit from mentoring by industry experts throughout their projects. Their shared mission? Tackle head-on the challenge of finding treatments for patients suffering from rare diseases, left without solutions by the industry due to their lack of profitability.

Read about Rodrigue Rossignol inthe following article: “RodrigueRossignol is one of the award winners SPARKee 2023”

The research project of nephrologist (kidney specialist) and immunologist Claire Leibler offers a new perspective to patients suffering from rare autoimmune diseases.

After completing a MD in nephrology, a PhD in immunology in Paris and a post-doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh (USA) in Mark Shlomchik’s lab, where she studied autoimmune diseases, she recently joined the ImmunoConcept laboratory in Bordeaux, in Professor Patrick Blanco’s group, as an Associate Professor (MCU-PH in the French system).

1 to 9 out of every 100,000 people in the world suffer from the ANCA vasculitis’ disease

The solution envisaged by Claire Leibler for curing the patients suffering from the ANCA vasculitis’ disease is based on the use of a molecule secreted naturally by the body to clear toxic products released upon by dying cells. In the context of ANCA vasculitis, the neutrophils (a type of white blood cells that are normally responsible for defending the body against bacteria, viruses, and toxins) become abnormally activated and die releasing toxic products. This leads to inflammation and can severely affect two vital organs: the kidneys, leading to their dysfunction, and the lungs, causing hemorrhages that can be life-threatening.

The current treatment for ANCA vasculitis involves immunosuppressive treatment (with two phases, an intense induction therapy followed by a sustain treatment to maintain remission). However, patients may experience relapses and the treatment is associated with serious side effects such as cancer, infections, and cardiovascular diseases.

The envisaged molecule could be administered as soon as the ANCA vasculitis diagnosis is suspected, without the risk of giving strong immunosuppressive treatment. Giving a targeted treatment early on will prevent the risk of sequala. Secondly, this novel therapeutic approach aims at reducing the standard of care immunosuppressive treatment, which, while effective, leads to undesirable side effects.

Additionally, the molecule also offers hope for recovery to patients suffering from thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), which shares similarities with ANCA vasculitis.

Claire Leibler's project aims to develop a natural-based and targeted drug, optimizing its effectiveness.

Thanks to the SPARK fund, the laureate will conduct preclinical tests on mice over the next two years to validate her innovative approach. She must now demonstrate its efficacy through thorough trials. She relies on strategic partnerships with SATT and CSL Behring to develop the drug. This offers a hope to patients facing this rare and devastating disease. Success requires teamwork:  Claire Leibler and Patrick Blanco’s team work in close collaboration with Professor Yves Delneste in Angers and with the RESO reference center for rarediseases at the Bordeaux University Hospital.

Her advice to future SPARK program candidates:
"Pursue a dual skill: being both a doctor and a researcher is very useful for making connections and working as a team. As a nephrologist and researcher, you must be enthousiastic in research and persevering."

If you, too, are a researcher and wish to apply for the next SPARK selection, please visit our website for the latest updated dates. The next session will be in spring 2024.