Virginie Postal, Vice-President for Science-Society Relations and Open Science

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Virginie Postal, Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology at the University of Bordeaux’s Faculty of Psychology, was appointed Vice-President for Science-Society Relations and Open Science by Dean Lewis, President of the University of Bordeaux, in February 2026.

Photo : Virginie Postal © Gautier Dufau
Virginie Postal © Gautier Dufau

After completing a PhD thesis entitled ‘Encyclopaedic Memory, Expertise and Ageing’, which she defended in December 1997 at the University of Rennes, and having qualified as a senior lecturer in February 1998, Virginie Postal was hired by the University of Bordeaux in September 1998. She joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Bordeaux 2 and set up the first teaching team in cognitive psychology. She then joined the University of Bordeaux’s Psychology Laboratory, where she conducted her research as part of the ‘Cognition: Function and Dysfunction’ programme, which is attached to the Ecor Department. Her research activities led to her obtaining a HDR (qualification permitting her to supervise research) in 2011, with her paper entitled ‘Ageing: A Model for Understanding and Comprehending Normal and Pathological Function’. She was appointed to the position of Professor of Cognitive Psychology and neuropsychology at the University of Bordeaux in November 2016.

Since that time, Virginie Postal has been deeply committed to performing the duties of a teacher and researcher and has dedicated herself to both undergraduate education (having been responsible for the first year of the psychology programme for eight years, the Bachelor’s degree in psychology for six years, and teaching for the first year of the Bachelor’s right up to the Master’s in psychology, including the ‘Cognition and the Brain: Cognitive Neuropsychology and Neuroimaging’ pathway), and continuing professional development (having overseen the ‘Supporting the Elderly: Understanding Ageing and its Consequences’ University Diploma since 2003), whilst continuing her research activities in the field of cognitive ageing and rare diseases. Her work has led to her supervising ten PhD theses (including two currently in progress) and focuses primarily on identifying and understanding the modulating factors of cognitive efficiency (for normal and pathological ageing as well as certain pathologies) and evaluating innovative therapeutic approaches. 

Her commitment to the university is evidenced by the time she has spent as Head of the Faculty of Psychology from 2014 to 2016 and Head of the College of Human Sciences from 2018 to 2024, a period characterised by numerous social movements, which reinforced her conviction in just how important a role the education system, and in particular the university, plays in society. She has been involved in the university’s flagship projects, including the NewDEAL programme between 2018 and 2021, joining its Steering Committee in 2024, and later taking on the role of project manager for the Cross-disciplinary Course Offering Committee in April 2024. 

Since 2015, she has also headed the Centre for University Assessment and Research in Psychology (CERUP), which is attached to the Labpsy psychology laboratory, a facility accredited by the Regional Health Agency (ARS) to conduct research involving vulnerable populations. She naturally joined the University of Bordeaux’s Research Ethics Committee when it was established in 2023 and has been a member of the Open Science Council since 2024.

Virginie Postal was appointed Vice-President for Science-Society Relations and Open Science at the University of Bordeaux in February 2026.

Dates clés

1990–1993: DEUG-Bachelor’s-Master’s degree in Psychology, Rennes 2 University 

1994: DEA, Rennes 2 University

1995: Qualified as a psychologist

1997: PhD in Psychology, Rennes 2 University, ‘Encyclopaedic Memory, Expertise and Ageing’

1998: Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Bordeaux 2 University (Faculty of Psychology, member of the Psychology Laboratory)

1998–2006: Director and Co-Director of the first year of the Psychology degree 

2011: HDR (qualification for supervising research), University of Bordeaux

2016: University Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, University of Bordeaux (Faculty of Psychology, member of the Psychology Laboratory, Department of Social and Human Sciences, later Ecor)

2004–2006/2014–2018: Programme Director for the Bachelor’s in Psychology, University of Bordeaux

2012–2014: Head of the Faculty of Psychology

2016–2017: Deputy Head of the School of Human Sciences

2018–2024: Head of the School of Human Sciences

2024–2026: Project Manager for the COTOF (Cross-disciplinary Course Offering Committee) at the University of Bordeaux

2026: Vice-President for Science-Society Relations and Open Science