Virginie Vidal was born in Paris, France. She received her undergraduate education and a M. Sc. in Organic Chemistry from Paris-Sud University. She obtained her PhD in 1988 under the supervision of Prof. H. P. Husson and Dr. J. Royer (Gif, France). She then pursued postdoctoral appointments with Prof. S. Hanessian in Canada (University of Montreal, 1989 & 1990), and with Prof. P. Potier and Dr. R. H. Dodd (Gif, 1991). She was appointed Associate Researcher at the CNRS with Prof. J. P. Genêt at Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris. She is currently Research Director CNRS at Chimie ParisTech (Paris, France). Her research interests focus on the development of synthetic methodologies in organic chemistry, transition metal-catalyzed reactions and the design of phosphorus containing atropisomeric ligands (Synphos and Difluorphos) for asymmetric catalysis. The synthesis of natural and biorelevant targets is also a focus in her group. She was Chair of the Division of Organic Chemistry of the French Chemical Society (2009-2012), team leader within IRCP Laboratory (2014-2018) and i-CLeHS Laboratory (2019-2024). She was awarded the Chemistry Medal of the French Academy of Sciences in 2024. Her production includes 181 publications, 10 chapters, 4 patents (h-index = 46). She has given over 155 presentations at international and national conferences, as well as in academic research institutions & industry.
She delivered a lecture entitled "TRANSITION METAL-CATALYZED REACTIONS: FROM LABORATORY TO SCALE-UP DEVELOPMENT"