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François Jacob Institute of biology

Director: Reiner VEITIA
Assistant Director: Simone MERGUI
DRF/Institut F. Jacob/CEA Paris-Saclay /site de Fontenay-aux-Roses bâtiment 56 PC 103
18 route du Panorama - BP6
92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex
Published on 1 April 2021

The mission of the François Jacob Institute of Biology, located primarily at the CEA/Paris-Saclay sites of Fontenay-aux-Roses and Évry1, is to strengthen basic research and develop translational and technological research in three areas:

  • radiobiology and radiotoxicology 
  • human health (neurodegenerative, infectious and immunohematological illnesses) 
  • medical and environmental genomics. 

The departments and services of the Instituts

The Institute brings together five departments concentrated around: 

  • research in human genomics (CNRGH)
  • environmental genomics and the exploration of metabolic functions (Genoscope)
  • radiobiology and radiotoxicology (IRCM)
  • the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases (IDMIT)
  • the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases (MIRCen) 
  • and two services involved in research and technological innovations regarding prion diseases (SEPIA), immunohematology (SRHI). In total, more than 600 people work at the Institute. 

The Institute's partners

Within the Institute, the CEA shares the co-tutelage of several mixed research units (UMR) with other public institutions: the CNRS, Inserm, and the Paris-Sud, Paris Diderot, Paris Créteil and Évry-val-d'Essonne universities. The Institute is part of the life sciences cluster of the Université Paris-Saclay, the Genopole d'Évry biocluster, and the "Vallée Scientifique de la Bièvre". The Institute is also involved in Medicen Paris Region, a competitiveness cluster in the field of innovative technologies for health and new therapies.

The Institute develops strong partnerships within specific themes (neurology, radiotherapy and oncology, rare diseases, infectiology), notably with the hospital centers of Kremlin-Bicêtre, Saint-Louis, Antoine Béclère, the Institut Gustave Roussy, HEGP (Georges Pompidou European Hospital), Henri-Mondor, and the CH Sud Francilien, as well as with research centers and laboratories associated with the Institut Pasteur, the Brain and Spine Institute (ICM), the Genopole d'Évry, etc.

The proximity of these major hospital institutions and associated research laboratories encourages all steps in translational research up to validation by clinical trials.

Three national research infrastructures in biology and health, funded by the Investissements d'Avenir program, are coordinated within the Institute: IDMIT, NeurATRIS and France Génomique.

The Institute collaborates with manufacturers (Oxford BioMedica, GSK, etc.) and hosts industrial teams that collaborate with its research units, such as Servier, OncoDesign, and LFB (Laboratoire français du fractionnement et des biotechnologies).

Startups have been created thanks to the transfer of technologies derived from the Institute's research teams, such as Theranexus and Acubens. 


Scientific integrity

Scientific integrity can be defined as the aggregate of the rules and values ​​that must govern research to ensure its honesty and scientific rigor. It is nothing less than indispensable if we, the research community, wish to maintain the confidence accorded to us by the society.

In the CEA, scientific integrity is shared by all its staff, and particularly its researchers. In order to show its attachment to this essential virtue, the CEA has:



1It is also situated in Paris (Hôpital Saint-Louis), Caen (Campus Jules Horowitz) and Jouy-en-Josas (INRA).