Short biography
Valérie Heitz is a Professor in Chemistry at the University of Strasbourg and head of the Laboratory of Synthesis of Multifunctional Molecular Assemblies (LSAMM). She obtained a Ph.D. in 1992 in the field of artificial photosynthesis under the direction of Dr. J.-P. Sauvage. After postdoctoral work with Prof. A. Harriman (University of Texas at Austin), she obtained an assistant professor position in the group of Dr. J.-P. Sauvage. She was involved in many projects involving porphyrins to model the function of the photosynthetic reaction centre. She also worked on mechanically interlocked compounds, especially catenanes and rotaxanes, as artificial molecular machines. She was promoted full professor at the University of Strasbourg in 2008.
Research interests
Her current interests concern functional dynamic systems, supramolecular architectures incorporating porphyrins, molecular machines, and bimodal systems for theranostic applications.