Janine Cossy earned a doctorate in chemistry at the
University of Reims, and then undertook a post-doctoral fellowship with the team of Professor
Barry Trost at the
University of Wisconsin at Madison. Appointed as a professor at ESPCI ParisTech in 1990, her work focuses on the total synthesis of natural biologically-active products like anticancer agents, antibiotics,
anti-inflammatories or products acting on the central nervous system. She has also conducted research on free-radical reactions and
photochemical reactions. ==Distinctions==