Professor of Hematology, Paris-Sorbonne University
Agnès Buzyn is Professor of Hematology at the Paris-Sorbonne University in Paris. She spent a large part of her career as an academic hematologist and clinician at the University Paris Descartes – Necker Hospital, where from 1992 to 2011 she headed the adult hematology intensive care and bone marrow transplants unit. In addition, up to 2006, Professor Buzyn was the Director of a research team on tumor immunology at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) – Institut Cochin-Paris Descartes. Her research activities have focused on bone marrow transplants, and immunotherapeutic vaccine for Leukemias (CML and AML). She has published more than 150 scientific papers and reviews in this area.
Throughout her career, A. Buzyn has served as president or board member of a number of national organizations: The Biomedicine Agency (ABM), the Blood Institute (EFS), the Bone Marrow Transplant and Cell Therapy Society (SFGM-TC). From 2008 to 2013, she served as Chair of the Executive Board of the Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety Institute (IRSN). During her mandate, she had to manage the short-term and long-term consequences of the Fukushima accident with the French government. A. Buzyn was the executive President of the French National Cancer Institute (INCa) from May 2011 until February 2016, in charge of designing the French Cancer Control Plan. In 2016, she was appointed Chairman of the French National Authority for Health (HAS – Haute Autorité de santé), the French Health Technology Assessment agency in charge of evaluating the benefit of drugs and medical devices, accreditation of hospitals and drafting guidance for French health professionals.
She served as the French Ministry of Solidarity and Health from May 2017 to February 2020, during the first mandate of President Macron, drafting the pension reform, and making amid many reforms on the health and solidarity field, 11 vaccines mandatory for the French children.
After standing for the mayor of Paris election in 2020, she joined WHO in Geneva in January 2021 as an Assistant Director General, serving as the DG’s envoy for multilateral affairs, especially in charge of the G7 and G20 summits negotiations, notably dedicated to draft new funding mechanisms for preparedness and response to pandemic, and to developing the new “One Health” Approach within governments and civil society. She served also as the Executive Director of the WHO Academy during this period.
She was named Advisor in the French Court of Auditors by President Macron in September 2022.
In parallel, she is responsible of a Master degree at SciencePo Paris on Global Health challenges and governance, and sits on the board of non-profit organizations such as the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), and an association financing research on pediatric cancers (Imagine for Margo).
Agnès Buzyn received an M.D. from University Pierre-and-Marie-Curie in Paris and a Ph.D. in immunology from the University Paris Descartes. She received different distinctions as a French Knight of the Legion of Honor and French Knight of the National Order of Merit.
