We are deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Pierre Chambon on May 5, 2026, at the age of 95. Across more than five decades of research, he transformed our understanding of how the genes of higher eukaryotes are organized, transcribed, and regulated, and his work had a profound impact on the life sciences.

Professor Chambon is perhaps best known for his pioneering work on nuclear receptors. By cloning the estrogen and progesterone receptors and discovering the retinoic acid receptor family, he helped establish the nuclear receptor superfamily as a central framework for understanding how hormones and vitamins regulate gene expression. His discoveries had far-reaching implications for oncology, dermatology, metabolic disease, and reproductive medicine. He also helped develop methods for inducing tissue-specific and temporally controlled somatic mutations in mice, tools that remain indispensable to experimental genetics today. This body of work earned him some of biomedical science’s most prestigious honors, among them the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award and the Canada Gairdner International Award.

Professor Chambon also founded the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), which he built into a leading center for biomedical research in France. Yet beyond any individual discoveries or institution, his deepest legacy lies in the conceptual framework he helped establish for modern molecular biology. Many of the principles that now underpin research in gene regulation, chromatin biology, nuclear receptor signaling, and mouse genetics can be traced to his work, influencing generations of scientists across molecular biology and genetics.

On behalf of IMR Press, we extend our deepest respect and sincerest condolences to Professor Chambon's family, colleagues, and trainees, and to the global research community he did so much to build. His legacy will continue to guide and inspire generations of scientists to come.

IMR Press Editorial Office