A new chapter for USIAS: new direction and chair holders

After over a decade of existence, the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study (USIAS) is delighted to announce the appointment of a new director and co-director, as well as several new chairs who will join its Governing Board.

Monica Manolescu has been appointed permanent Chair of American Literature and Art, and started as director of USIAS on 1 September 2025. Thomas Baumert has been appointed permanent Chair of Translational Medicine, and will serve as co-director of USIAS. They take over from Thomas Ebbesen, who has guided and nurtured the institute since its beginning in 2012.

In addition, Frédéric Colin, who held the Marc Bloch Chair in 2022-2024, has been appointed permanent Chair of Egyptology, and Wiebke Drenckhan, CNRS research director in physics and physical chemistry, has been appointed as Marguerite Perey Chair for the period 2025-2027.

The new direction will work to further strengthen the unique community of USIAS Fellows, currently consisting of nearly 250 researchers from all scientific disciplines, which forms an invigorating part of the overall ecosystem of research in Strasbourg.

The appointments of the new team of directors and of the new chair holders will enable USIAS to continue its mission of inspiring and supporting Strasbourg researchers in their ventures into new directions and to engage in curiosity-driven research at the highest level. In addition, they will help USIAS to continue to attract talent from outside, bringing new ideas and connections to Strasbourg, and enhancing the university’s international visibility and prestige.