Invité équipe Y. Bourne / P. Marchot: Yotis Senis, C2VN, Marseille – « Defining and harnessing the megakaryocyte/platelet checkpoint »

Summary: Platelets are anucleate blood cells that are produced by megakaryocytes (MKs) and play a central role in thrombosis and hemostasis. However, the mechanism regulating the number and reactivity of platelets in the circulation remains undefined. We propose this is governed by a MK/platelet checkpoint that safeguards against haphazard platelet production and thrombosis. Defining and harnessing this checkpoint will lead to a better understand and improved therapeutics of thrombotic and hemorrhagic disorders.

Biosketch: Dr. Yotis Senis did his undergraduate and graduate studies in Life Sciences and Pathology, Queen’s University, Canada. His postdoctoral training was with Professor Steve Watson in Pharmacology, University of Oxford, UK, investigating the regulation of platelet activation and thrombosis by tyrosine kinase-linked receptors. In 2004, he established an independent research group in Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK, investigating the regulation of platelet production and function by tyrosine phosphatases. In 2012, he was awarded a British Heart Foundation Senior Fellowship and Chair in Cellular Haemostasis. In 2019, he was appointed Inserm Director of Research at the Etablissement Français du Sang Grand Est, Inserm UMR-S1255, Strasbourg, and awarded an ERC Advanced Investigator Grant in 2024, investigating the regulation of platelet homeostasis by receptor tyrosine phosphatases and vascular heparan sulfates. He joined the Cardiovascular and Nutrition Research Centre, Aix-Marseille University in 2025. He takes a multidisciplinary approach in his research, investigating the interplay between tyrosine phosphatases and kinases in the regulation of platelet production and function in health and disease, with the overall objective of identifying novel drug targets and developing immunotherapeutic-based approaches for the treatment of thrombotic and hemorrhagic disorders.