Patrice Debré, born in 1945, received his degrees in medicine from Paris University in 1971.He subsequently became specialist in hematology. From 1975 to 1977 he was research fellow at the Harvard Medical School, USA, in the department of the Nobel Prize winner Baruj Benacerraf. He then joined the medical staff at the department of hematology at the Paris University Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital as head of clinics where he developed an extensive experience in the clinical management of Hematological and immunological diseases. He subsequently became Professor of Immunology at the Pierre and Marie Curie Paris University and the first chairman of the clinical department of immunology at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (1981). He was (1983-2013) director of several CNRS and INSERM units, then of a Federative Institute of Immunology, Cancer and Infection. He contributed to more than 450 peer reviewed articles concerning various aspects of clinical and translational research in immunology and Immunopathology.

Professor Patrice Debré actively worked internationally and became the French ministry of Foreign Affairs (2009-2011) and French ambassador for the fight against HIV / AIDS and communicable diseases. He was the French representative at the board of most  multilateral organizations fighting against pandemics, including  the Global Fund, UNITAID, RBM, UNAIDS (2008-2011) and EDCTP (2003-2012). In addition to these international activities related to medicine, he became chair of the board of CIRAD, the major French institution dedicated to international research in agriculture, including zoonosis and food security (2004-2010). In parallel, Professor Patrice Debré was appointed at major positions in French administration of science and education.

He received several awards and was elected in 2012 as corresponding member and in 2016 as titular member at the French Academy of Medicine. Due to his experience in clinical practice, clinical research, teaching, administration, international, NGOs and Industry, Professor Patrice Debré is today senior adviser at the APHP Department of Clinical Research (DRCD), the APHP Delegation of International Relationship (DRI), and at AVIESAN, the network of French Institutions dedicated to life sciences.