Duchesne entered ''l'Ecole du Service de Santé Militaire de Lyon'' (the Military Health Service School of Lyons) in 1894. Duchesne's thesis,
"Contribution à l’étude de la concurrence vitale chez les micro-organismes: antagonisme entre les moisissures et les microbes" (Contribution to the study of vital competition in micro-organisms: antagonism between molds and microbes), that he submitted in 1897 to get his doctorate degree, was the first study to consider the therapeutic capabilities of molds resulting from their anti-microbial activity. In his landmark thesis, Duchesne proposed that bacteria and molds engage in a perpetual battle for survival. In one experiment, he treated cultures of
Penicillium glaucum with media containing either bacteria that cause
typhoid fever (
Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, formerly:
Bacillus typhosus (Eberth)) or
Escherichia coli (formerly:
Bacterium coli communis) ; the
Penicillium succumbed to the bacteria. Nevertheless, he wondered whether the
Penicillium might have weakened the bacteria before the mold perished. So he injected
guinea pigs with media containing bacteria (either typhoid or
E. coli) and media containing
Penicillium glaucum. The animals survived and were rendered immune to the bacteria. He speculated that molds might release toxins, as some bacteria do. To treat diseases, he proposed using media in which either bacteria or molds had been cultured. Duchesne concluded that: While only weakly conclusive given the number of the experimental trials, this proves Duchesne understood, concluded, and published information about the effect of the
Penicillium glaucum mold as a therapeutic agent in animals. Because he was 23 and unknown, the
Institut Pasteur did not even acknowledge receipt of his dissertation. Duchesne served a one-year internship at
Val-de-Grâce before he was appointed a 2nd class Major of Medicine in the 2nd Regiment de Hussards de Senlis. On 16 December 1900, he married Rosa Lassallas from
Cannes. She died 2 years later of
tuberculosis. In 1904, Duchesne also contracted a serious chest disease, probably tuberculosis. Three years later, he was discharged from the army and sent to a sanatorium in
Amélie-les-Bains. He died on 12 April 1912, at age 37. Duchesne is buried next to his wife in the
Cimetière du Grand Jas in Cannes. ==Recognition==