Catherine Tourette-Turgis, PhD, is Professor Emerita at Sorbonne University’s Faculty of Health and Holder of the Chair “Competencies and Vulnerabilities.” She founded and leads the University of Patients – Sorbonne University, the first academic institution worldwide to award university degrees to patients — an innovation now adapted in Brazil, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, and Australia.

She has over 20 years of international involvement   in the global HIV/AIDS response, including a decade living in the United States from 1996 to 2006.  During that decade, she was invited as a visiting scientist to teach at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz and also collaborates with the CDC and conducted research at CAPS in San Francisco. Her research has focused on HIV counseling protocols   therapeutic education to improve adherence to HIV medications, psychosocial support, and strengthening health systems in countries with limited healthcare resources. She co-authored a randomized clinical trial (HIV Clinical Trials, 2003) demonstrating the effectiveness of counseling in improving therapeutic adherence. She has also designed and implemented therapeutic education programs in nine African countries.

Since 2017, she has expanded her work into oncology, focusing on cancer recovery, return-to-work trajectories, and the epistemological recognition of experiential knowledge in care pathways. She conceived and created a competency assessment center specifically for individuals who has experienced cancer. She develops training programs in both national and international companies in cancer and work.

She is currently an awardee and scientific partner in two Horizon Europe projects focused on  advancing patient engagement in clinical trials   and on using artificial intelligence for risk prediction, care pathways and health decision-making. These projects contribute to transforming research ecosystems and strengthening participatory health governance in  Europe.

She is the author of over 150 peer-reviewed publications and around fifteen books and professional guides, she contributes regularly to public health policy development at national and international levels. Her work aligns with ASU-GHI’s priorities in global health, health governance, vulnerabilities and inequalities, and participatory and patient-engaged research.