A French biochemist noted for his work on the study of molecular biology. He studied first in Paris before working at Columbia University having gained a Rockerfeller Fellowship. He gained his PhD from the Sorbonne for his work on bacterial growth. He joined the French Resistance during the Second (p. 244) World War after which he joined the Pasteur Institut in Paris, becoming its head in 1954 and director in 1971. He was professor of molecular biology at the College de France from 1967. The Monod equation describing the kinetics for molecular growth is named after him.