Paul Bastard

Paul Bastard, MD-PhD, is an associate professor in the Paediatric Haematology and Immunology department of Necker Hospital for Sick Children (AP-HP, Paris, France), while also conducting research at the Imagine Institute (University of Paris Cité, INSERM, Paris, France).   

From 2020 onwards, he identified the role of autoantibodies (auto-Abs) to type I IFNs in the pathogenesis of more than 15% of cases of life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia, and in several other severe viral diseases. His team also showed that these auto-Abs increase with age in the general population, from 0.3% under the age of 60 to 4% after the age of 70, providing a mechanistic explanation for increased mortality in older adults with viral disease.   

His research currently focuses on the causes and consequences of autoantibodies in infectious diseases and cancer. He leads the ATLAS Team who aim to identify antibodies that can be either protective or deleterious in cancer.