Claire Leclech and Annalaura Stingo awarded launching packages, a new support program for teachers-researchers at École Polytechnique

Claire Leclech, a CNRS Research Fellow at École Polytechnique and member of the Hydrodynamics Laboratory (LadHyX), and Annalaura Stingo, a Monge Professor at École Polytechnique and member of the Laurent Schwartz Mathematics Center (CMLS), were awarded Launching Packages on June 2, 2025. Both will benefit from a dedicated budget for three years to develop their respectively research projects in the fields of cellular biomechanics and mathematics.

Established in 2024, the Launching Package is a new support program designed for recently recruited researchers and teachers-researchers at École Polytechnique. It ensures optimal conditions for launching their research programs. Over three years, the recipients will receive funding to acquire key equipment, finance doctoral or post-doctoral fellowships, internships, field missions, or conferences.

Funded by Fondation de l'École Polytechnique, which is committed to raising nearly €300,000 for each package as part of its "Servir la science" fundraising campaign, this new initiative aims to sustain a supportive environment for researchers and teachers-researchers. It will also enhance the attractiveness of École Polytechnique and promote the visibility of research conducted across its 23 laboratories.

CClaire Leclech, CNRS Research Fellow at École Polytechnique and Member of the Hydrodynamics Laboratory (LadHyX)

Former student of École Normale Supérieure in Paris, Claire Leclech focused her PhD on studying the influence of extracellular environment topography on the migration of embryonic neurons (Institut du Fer à Moulin / Institut Curie - Institut Pierre Gilles de Gennes). From 2019 to 2024, she conducted post-doctoral research at the Hydrodynamics Laboratory of École Polytechnique (CNRS, École Polytechnique - IP Paris), before being appointed as a CNRS Research Fellow in October 2024 within the same laboratory.

At LadHyX, Claire Leclech continues to explore how cells respond to the topography of their environment, particularly within the vascular system. She develops microstructured substrates that mimic the organization of blood vessels to analyze their impact on vascular cells. At the intersection of biology, physics, and bioengineering, one of her research focuses is to investigate nuclear deformations in cells induced by topography, the associated mechanical adaptation mechanisms, and their functional consequences. By designing innovative experimental systems, she aims to advance fundamental understanding of nuclear biomechanics and contribute to biomedical applications for diagnosing nuclear pathologies.

"Receiving this Launching Package is a wonderful surprise. As I have just been recruited, this recognition is incredibly encouraging and shows that my projects are of interest. I am especially pleased because this is my first independent funding. The program lives up to its name—it will truly enable me to launch my research, and I hope it will lead to a series of successes," says Claire Leclech.

Annalaura Stingo, Monge Professor at École Polytechnique and Member of the Laurent Schwartz Mathematics Center (CMLS)

Annalaura Stingo holds a PhD focused on global existence problems for nonlinear critical evolution equations with small data (Université Paris 13). After a post-doctoral fellowship in the United States (University of California, Davis) and participation in two thematic semesters (SLMath, formerly MSRI, at the University of California, Berkeley, and ICERM at Brown University), she joined École Polytechnique in January 2022 as a Monge Professor at the Laurent Schwartz Mathematics Center (CNRS, École Polytechnique - IP Paris).

With the support of the Launching Package, Annalaura Stingo will develop two research axes. First, she will investigate weak turbulence phenomena in semi-linear wave equations, a crucial step toward mathematically understanding potential turbulent behavior in gravitational waves. Second, she will study the semi-classical limit of highly oscillating metrics in the context of higher-dimensional gravity theories, aiming to understand backreaction phenomena.

"I am deeply honored to benefit from this new support program—it is a tremendous opportunity! It will allow me to recruit post-doctoral researchers to accelerate our research and organize a conference bringing together experts in the field. This will facilitate the exchange of ideas, the presentation of our results, and ultimately, promote our discipline," says Annalaura Stingo.