Vincent Barbier is one of the newest members of the iCubed team, joining the Institute in December 2014 to research Dengue fever alongside Dr. Carey Medin.

Prior to moving to the United States to begin his work at iCubed, Vincent matriculated as a PhD student at the University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France. Dr. Barbier’s PhD is in Pastrel, a restriction factor for picorna-like viruses in Drosophila melanogaster. He focused on understanding the interaction between insect viruses and their host, using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a model. The principle aim of his research was to study the cause of the sensitivity of some Drosophila strains to Drosophila C virus (DCV) infection, a natural pathogen of Drosophila. This work led to the characterization of a new antiviral restriction factor, Pastrel, opposing infection by picorna-like viruses in insect Drosophila. In simpler terms, he aimed to understand the immunity in insects, particularly flies, and studied a protein that combats viruses.

Before completing his PhD, Vincent earned a Bachelor’s degree from University of Nancy (Nancy, France) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as well as a Master’s degree in Virology from University Paris-Diderot and Institut Pasteur (Paris, France).

Vincent chose to pursue postdoctoral study at iCubed because of his prior experience in insect virology. While working at iCubed, Dr. Barbier will attempt to discover how the Dengue virus reacts in the various organelles of the human cell.

Outside of iCubed, Vincent enjoys traveling. Since December, he has extensively explored Providence, R.I., and has also traveled to nearby Boston, M.A., home of the Museum of Fine Arts. Over the course of his fellowship, he looks forward to further exploring the United States.