Throughout his independent scientific career spanning three decades, Franck Polleux has focused on the identification of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal development in the mammalian brain. More recently, his lab started studying the genetic basis of human brain evolution by focusing on the role of human-specific gene duplications as genetic modifiers of synaptic connectivity, circuit function and their impact on cognition. His most recent work demonstrates that human-specific genes such as SRGAP2B/C not only represent human-specific modifiers of brain development but also represent unique human-specific disease modifiers in the context of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders.

For his numerous scientific contributions, Polleux was awarded several prestigious awards such as the Albert L. Lehninger Research Prize for postdoctoral research, the 2005 NARSAD Young Investigator Award, the 2015 Foundation Roger De Spoelberch Prize and the 2021 R35 Research Program Award, a career award from the NIH-National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).