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The François Jacob Institute of Biology brings together five departments and three services
The last two years in scientific news
As soon as the Government announced that the pandemic had reached stage 3 and that the national containment system would be implemented, CEA mobilized to maintain its essential functions, while helping to combat the spread of the virus and protect the health of its 20,000 employees.
A study led by IMVA-HB/IDMIT researchers, published in NPJ Vaccines, has shown the influence of the delay between vaccinations (primary and booster) on the specific humoral immune response. This work also suggests the establishment of a trained immune memory.
Researchers from the SEPIA (CEA)-Sup'Biotech partnership laboratory and the Gly-CRRET (UPEC) laboratory have developed a genetic tool for the long-term expression of proteins in human brain organoids. This work, published in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, concerns the modelling of a genetic form of frontotemporal dementia, a neurodegenerative disease with a tauopathic side similar to Alzheimer's disease.
With the support of the Ministry of Solidarity and Health and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, 20 scientific initiatives were selected by REACTing's scientific board and presented at a press conference on 11 March. Among them, IDMIT is piloting a fundamental research project on the evolution of Covid-19 in a specific pre-clinical study model.
Scientists from the Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases (MIRCen/ François Jacob Institute of Biology) in collaboration with the Neurocentre Magendie (Inserm/University of Bordeaux) have highlighted the decisive role played by a metabolic pathway in memory disorders in Alzheimer's disease. Their work, published in Cell Metabolism, also shows that L-serine intake, in the form of a dietary supplement, restores the spatial memory that is affected early on in mouse models of the disease.
To develop new treatments for tuberculosis, the world's leading cause of death from infectious diseases, the European Union and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations are launching the ERA4TB (European Regimen Accelerator for Tuberculosis) consortium combining academic and private research, of which the IDMIT department is a partner
A better understanding of COVID-19 and its spread is essential in order to detect the disease, treat and protect patients. This is why on 30 January 2020, the European Commission launched a request for expressions of interest entitled 'SC1-PHE-CORONAVIRUS-2020: Advancing knowledge for the clinical and public health response to the [COVID-19] epidemic' with a budget of €47.5 million. 17 research projects were shortlisted for funding following evaluation.
On February 12th, a dossier on cerebral organoids was published in the Cahier Sciences et Médecine of the newspaper Le Monde: "Cerebroids: from mini-organs to maxi-powers ?" Report in the SEPIA/Sup'Biotech partnership laboratory.
On 7 February 2020, in the follow-through of its call for accreditation launched in June 2019, the Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation announced the names of the 39 institutes earning "Carnot Institute" status. These laureate institutes will receive annual financing for four years to strengthen joint research. Among them is the Organization for Partnerships in Leukemia (OPALE), a national consortium involving two divisions of the François Jacob Institute of Biology: IDMIT and IRCM.
CEA is a French government-funded technological research organisation in four main areas: low-carbon energies, defense and security, information technologies and health technologies. A prominent player in the European Research Area, it is involved in setting up collaborative projects with many partners around the world.