In parallel he was Professor at the Collège de France as Chair of cellular biochemistry.

[2] In this last capacity during 1981 to 1985 he acted as advisor to two Prime Ministers, Pierre Mauroy and Laurent Fabius.

François Gros is best known for his role in the discovery of mRNA and further work on RNA and ribosomes.

[5][6] Elected correspondent (1977) then member (1979) of the French Academy of Sciences, he was permanent secretary from 1991 to 2000.

During the Second World War he fled first to Brive and then took refuge in Toulouse, changing names several times.