Explore the outer limits of the brain and matter, create unlimited energy, overcome pain, simulate the unattainable, etc. subjects dear to science fiction that are a now a reality for research laboratories!

The “Science Machina” travelling exhibition celebrates science and the fantastic machines at the heart of the most extraordinary discoveries and developments in recent years, which continue to broaden the scope for new possibilities. Speaking of machines, the exhibition will focus on the dialogue between man and machine and between genius and technology.

Discover these cutting-edge machines through photographs and comic-book art in a series of 12 diptychs.

When science meets the “ninth art”

The comic book is a key component of the exhibition as it depicts scientific machines in an unconventional way, thus bringing together the world of art and science.

The writer Felix Elvis has enlisted 12 comic book artists to take one of the research tools used or partly developed by scientists at Inserm or CEA, and to create a portrayal using comic-book art. Comics, fantasy, manga, etc. each illustration has its own world that reflects the diversity of machines, from the micropump to the supercomputer.

For further discussion, comment and post your questions on social networks using #sciencemachina.

Practical information

SCIENCE MACHINA,

An exhibition organised by Inserm and CEA.

29 October—03 November 2016

Utopiales de Nantes/International Science Fiction Festival

Cité des Congrès de Nantes, 5 rue de Valmy, 44000 Nantes

Audience: children aged 7 and over

Les Utopiales de Nantes

Since its inception in 2000, Les Utopiales, The Nantes International Science Fiction Festival, has been aimed at opening up the world of the future, new technologies and the imaginary to as many people as possible, and helping them to discover it in a highly qualitative way. Chaired by Roland Lehoucq, astrophysicist at CEA, the festival will take place from 29 October to 03 November 2016. As well as covering annual science fiction news, the theme this year will be “Machines”.

As part of this partnership, researchers at CEA and Inserm will participate in debates and discussions with science fiction authors on the issues surrounding these machines and their possible applications. The world of science does not have to be finite and, on the contrary, as a continuously evolving subject, science and science fiction have a close or even common language!

Machines for travel, exploration, service, modification, etc. a wealth of topics predicted by the fertile imaginations of science fiction authors that are researched by institutes today.

(c) Fotolia

ZIKAlliance, a multidisciplinary and multinational research consortium coordinated by Inserm, has received €12 million from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme to conduct a large-scale 3-year research project on Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The consortium, led by virologist Professor Xavier de Lamballerie (Inserm, IRD, Aix-Marseille University) includes the Oswaldo Cruz foundation (Fiocruz) the universities of Heidelberg, Leuven and Oxford, the Erasmus Medical Centre, the Leiden University Medical Centre, the Bonn University Medical Centre, the Fundação Bahiana de Infectologia foundation and Institut Pasteur among its 52 partners, located in 18 countries.

In France, 11 partners will work alongside Inserm on this project: the Instituts Pasteur in Paris and New Caledonia, Inserm Transfert, the Institute for Development Research [IRD], the Atomic Energy Commission [CEA], the National Centre for Scientific Research [CNRS], Aix-Marseille University, Institut Louis Malardé, Papeete, ANSES, University of Lyon and University of Rennes 2.

“Funding by the European Commission of this project, coordinated by Inserm, shows how much French expertise, through the multidisciplinary approach of the REACTing consortium[1], is recognised for its ability to organise and coordinate research in an emergency. ZIKAlliance is the outcome of the strong mobilisation of research leaders since 2015 to combat this emerging infectious disease,” says Yves Lévy, Chairman and CEO of Inserm and President of Aviesan, the National Alliance for Life Sciences and Health.

In a global effort to combat this international menace that has affected 73 countries and territories worldwide (WHO Zika Situation Report, 13 October 2016), the consortium, which is spread over 4 continents, will bring together many university disciplines to approach three main objectives.

Its first goal is to explore the repercussions of ZIKV during pregnancy, and the short- and long-term effects on newborns. Even though a link between Zika and microcephaly has been proven[2], the consequences of ZIKV for mothers and babies remain largely unknown.

ZIKAlliance will also explore the history of ZIKV in humans and their environment, based on the context of other arboviruses that affect the same populations, such as dengue and chikungunya. Consortium partners specialised in basic sciences will seek to characterise the virus and disease mechanisms, and identify drugs to control the viral infection. In the social sciences, the partners will analyse the cost and social repercussions of the disease, and will describe the beliefs and behaviours within the affected Brazilian population.

Another of the consortium’s objectives is to better organise research in anticipation of future threats of epidemics in the affected areas: it will establish a network of research centres in Latin America and the Caribbean prepared to study emerging diseases. This objective is being pursued in collaboration with two other consortia funded by the European Commission: ZikaPlan and ZikAction.

Vast medical cohorts will be studied in Latin America and the Caribbean. The main European research bodies will contribute to basic research programmes. Meanwhile, the partners in Africa, Asia and Polynesia, will take part in intercontinental epidemiological studies planned within the ZIKAlliance.

“We have managed to assemble a very large panel of partners whose experience is likely to make this project a success,” points out Xavier de Lamballerie, adding, “We are really trying to build something lasting that will help the regions in the event of future epidemics.”

A meeting to launch the project is planned in Sao Paulo on 4 and 5 December 2016.

ZIKAlliance is a 3-year project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme for research and innovation according to Funding Agreement No. 734548.

[1] REACTing stands for REsearch and ACTion targeting emerging infectious diseases. Established in 2013, the REACTing scheme has made it possible to mobilise French teams for the chikungunya epidemic and for Ebola.

[2] See for example, de Araujo et al, Lancet Infect Dis, published online on 15 September 2016, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30318-8

 ©Jean Marie Heidinger/Inserm

CNES and Inserm, respectively the institution in charge of proposing and implementing French space policy and the leading biomedical research organisation in Europe, have decided to expand their cooperation in the area of space and health. For the first time, they have signed a framework agreement that will cover the advances in basic research made possible by studying the human being in space, as well as the applications of findings from space research in matters of health.

Space is an extraordinary laboratory for medicine and medical research on Earth. The loss of muscle mass and bone density, and the accelerated ageing of the arteries or disruption of the internal body clock observed in astronauts affected by zero gravity have led to improved knowledge of the human body. There has been a human presence in space almost continuously for over 40 years, and the main concern of the space agencies has always been to ensure astronauts’ health by taking appropriate measures. But in recent years, there have been instruments that allow comprehensive medical monitoring of astronauts, opening the opportunity for basic studies in physiology and medicine, conducted by Inserm and CNES. Moreover, these instruments may also find applications in medical research and public health.

This agreement, signed in the presence of the President of France by Yves Lévy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Inserm and Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of CNES, provides for collaboration in the area of health in order to gain a better understanding of:

• the impact of space conditions on physiology and its consequences for health (particularly the sensory, cognitive, biomechanical and immunological effects)

Its aim is to develop methods, tools and services based on, among other things, space technologies in the area of health, particularly:

• the development of connected devices, particularly those designed for astronaut flight,
• the development of medical instruments

It will also give rise to a large number of experiments during the period spent by Thomas Pesquet on board the international space station. Access to simulation experiments conducted on earth will also be possible, as well as the opportunity to conduct research projects during parabolic flights or in recoverable capsules.

“Thomas Pesquet’s space mission will make it possible to write a new chapter in French excellence in the area of manned flight. With this framework agreement signed with Inserm, medical research will benefit from all the advances enabled by studying the human being in space, and major advantages both for applications and for routine health matters,” stated Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of CNES.

“This agreement is a first between our two institutions, each of which embodies French excellence in Europe and worldwide in its own domain. This is an important step, which allows us to combine exploration of extreme environments and the use of the most advanced technologies for research on human health,” emphasised Yves Lévy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Inserm.

(c) Macmillan Publishers Ltd

The French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) is the only research institution in France listed in the World Top 100 institutions with the most progress in the last 3 years. This is indicated by the Nature Index 2016 Rising Stars, which highlights the big contribution of Inserm researchers to publications in the best 68 journals selected by Nature. This ranking identifies the most brilliant institutions to watch in 2016 and in the coming years.

Of 8,000 institutions reviewed, Inserm appears in 75^th place among the institutions with the strongest progress. In three years, of a selection of 68 scientific journals rated best by Nature, the number of publications increased by 17.43%. Contributions from Inserm researchers published in the journal Science and the Nature Group Journals almost doubled in three years. Inserm is the only research institution in France listed in the Nature Index 2016 Rising Stars. Its presence in this index is all the more exceptional given that the index is naturally dominated by countries, such as China, that have very recently entered into international competition, and have exceptional growth in their number of publications.

For Professor Yves Lévy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Inserm: “This indicator reflects our research policy, which encourages Inserm researchers to publish in the best journals because they are talented. This index didn’t take into account medical journals specialising in clinical research, such as NEJM, JAMA or The Lancet, in which growth is 37%. Theses results confirm the place of Inserm in basic science and in clinical research.”

About Inserm

Founded in 1964, the French National Institute of Health and Medical research (Inserm) is a public science and technology institute, jointly supervised by the French Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and women’s Rights. Inserm is the only French public research institute to focus entirely on human health with nearly 15000 researchers, engineers, technicians, post-doctoral students and more than 300 laboratories. The mission of its scientists is to study all diseases, from the most common to the rarest. Inserm is a member of Aviesan, the French National Alliance for Life Sciences and Health founded in 2009. Other founding members of Aviesan : CEA, CNRS, CHRU, CPU, INRA, INRIA, Institut Pasteur, IRD.

On 11 July 2016, Mr Thierry Mandon, Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research, and the Chairman and CEO of the Institute, Professor Yves Lévy, signed the objectives and performance contract binding Inserm and the French State for the 2016–2020 period. The result of intense exchanges between Inserm and the relevant ministries, the contract defines the broad directions and actions that will be taken by the Institute in order to provide an environment conducive to the expression of talent, encourage the production of knowledge and best support its exploitation for societal, clinical or economic purposes, and enable laboratories to best respond to the new challenges and issues in the life sciences and health.

(c) Inserm – Mehrak Hans Lucas

Inserm has set itself 6 broad objectives for the next 5 years. These comprise 35 actions associated with specific performance indicators and time frames.

Objective 1: Support integrated and pluridisciplinary research, and produce knowledge of the highest standard

Inserm’s good results at international level are the result of the laboratories’ activity, based on unrestricted research, conducted at the researchers’ initiative. This approach will remain the linchpin of scientific policy for Inserm, which will make sure to maintain the level of allocations to the units, maintain set-up grants for newly recruited research fellows, enabling them to undertake their own research project, often following their return from a long post-doctoral period abroad, and continue its support for the Atip-Avenir programme. This spirit will also prevail in the design of more specific actions initiated by Inserm, such as the cross-disciplinary programmes, accelerators of technological research (ART) or new public health actions. On this last point, it will involve promoting scientific results as a support tool in making policy decisions related to health.

Objective 2: Support the translation of innovation into human health at economic, clinical and societal level

The area of biomolecular therapy development and exploitation of therapeutic targets nonetheless remains fragile, since it is a heavy user of financial resources, highly risky, and requires specialised and leading-edge expertise, while the potential returns are long-term or even very long-term. A specific project involving such innovations has yet to be undertaken with a view to strengthening the therapeutic or diagnostic applications of Inserm’s innovations, ensuring that Inserm maintains its high standing among the large international research institutions with respect to this development of therapeutic or diagnostic applications to the clinical stage, and encouraging the effective delivery of these innovations to the patient.

Objective 3: Strengthen the visibility and management of the infrastructures

Inserm intends to reinforce the clarity and coordination of its research infrastructures by developing its ability to ensure their supervision, mutual sharing and protection. The economic model (investment, operation, human resources) of the infrastructures as a whole must, in particular, be consolidated after a preliminary stage of defining Inserm’s strategic priorities and discussion with the partners.

Objective 4: Promote professional career paths and attractiveness

Inserm, a leading European operator in the biomedical research area, has a duty to implement an ambitious HR policy to maintain its position and meet the objectives of a research field that requires competency in an increasingly vast range of disciplines. To meet these challenges, the Institute hopes to adapt its employment policy to the demographic context: on the one hand, its ability to recruit staff with fresh skills via competitions will be limited in the near future; on the other hand, the reassignment of a significant number of positions from support to laboratory roles carried out in recent years is now clearly reaching a limit.

Schemes should therefore be established that will make it possible to simultaneously:

• maintain and optimise recruitment;
• mobilise the existing resources to the Institute’s strategic projects (supporting career paths and the potential for career development and mobility);
• adapt the evaluation processes to changes in the researcher’s role;
• optimise the career paths of contract staff, who are essential to the Institute’s research effort.

Objective 5: Contribute to the scientific strategy of the sites, optimise partnerships and simplify management to facilitate research

The reforms of recent years have enabled the emergence in our country of new models of scientific cooperation and working aimed at strengthening the synergies between the institutes of higher education and the research bodies. These reforms in the organisation of research in biology and health have led Inserm to evolve in order to participate fully in site policies, to jointly define the priorities, to support, together with the partners, the structuring of research in biology and health, and to ensure consistency between a national strategy and its local embodiments. Inserm advocates a principle of controlled participation in the numerous bodies established around these initiatives. First, we should talk in terms of programmes or projects rather than structures. Second, Inserm is involved in the structuring of the “biology/health” component of the sites, but does not have to participate in the general governance of the groupings or be a member of the Associations of Universities and Higher Education Institutions (Comues) (except when they are directing an Initiative of Excellence).

Objective 6: Increase Inserm’s role in the construction of the European Research Area

At European level, Inserm occupies a leading position in terms of coordination and participation in health-related collaborative projects under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7), and the Institute is one of the first two European recipients of ERC awards in the life sciences area. Inserm’s active participation in the construction of the European Research Area is well illustrated by the 434 FP7 projects managed by the Institute. To remain one of the major European actors in life sciences and health research, Inserm will implement a proactive, attractive and innovative policy. This policy has 3 main strands: to promote excellent targeted bilateral cooperation, to encourage the participation of Inserm teams in European programmes, and to spur influential actions within Aviesan and the Club of Associated Research Organisations (Clora).

UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon has just announced the creation of a “Global Health Crises” Task Force, which will bring together 3 co-leads and 12 members, including Inserm Chairman and CEO Yves Lévy. The Task Force will ensure the implementation and monitoring of the recommendations of the report, “Protecting humanity from future health crises,” submitted to the UN Secretary-General in February 2016 by the High-level Panel on the Global Response to Health Crises[1]. The main mission of the Task Force will be to alert the UN Secretary-General on matters related to emerging crises and any gaps or weaknesses in the world health system.

Le Professeur Yves Lévy, Président-directeur général de l’Inserm.

©Inserm/Guénet, François

“It is an immense honour to have been appointed as a member of this international task force by the UN Secretary-General, to fulfil this ambitious mission,” says Yves Lévy, Chairman and CEO of Inserm. “Like the REACTing consortium (REsearch and ACTion targeting emerging infectious diseases), spearheaded by Inserm and Aviesan in 2013 to improve research preparation in periods between crises, and establish research projects in periods of epidemic crisis, I hope our work will contribute to strengthening the systems, throughout the world, that can assist the global response to the emergence of epidemics. It has become a key health issue for the planet.”

The Task Force will exercise its functions for one year, starting in July 2016.

The Task Force will be co-led by Jan Eliasson, UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group and Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. The Deputy Secretary-General will serve as Chair of the Task Force.

The list of co-leads and members of the Task Force is accessible via the link below:
https://www.un.org/sg/offthecuff/index.asp?nid=4603

[1] This panel was established in April 2015 by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to strengthen national and international systems to prevent and manage health crises, taking into account lessons learned from the response to the emergence of Ebola virus in West Africa in early 2015.

Cyril Schiever, Chairman of the Board of MSDAVENIR, Professor Yves Lévy, Chairman and CEO of Inserm and Pascale Augé, President of the Executive Board of Inserm Transfert, today signed a strategic framework agreement to support French medical research.This event took place under the patronage and in the presence of Marisol Touraine, French Minister for Social Affairs and Health, and Thierry Mandon, Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research.

This framework agreement reflects the desire of MSDAVENIR to make a significant commitment to medical research in France. “This agreement cements the founding ambition of MSDAVENIR: to invest differently in France to further scientific and medical knowledge. Through this collaborative approach with Inserm, MSDAVENIR forms part of a dynamic for ‘open research and innovation’, driven and supported by the French government. We are particularly honored today by the presence of the Minister for Health and the Secretary of State for Research, an indication of their support for this endeavor” declared Cyril Schiever, Chairman of MSDAVENIR.

“The agreement we are signing today with MSDAVENIR is fully in line with three of Inserm’s major objectives: foster the medical and scientific attractiveness of France; develop public-private partnerships within a framework of open innovation; and focus efforts onto domains of excellence in fundamental and translational research serving new precision medicine” added Yves Levy, Chairman and CEO of Inserm.

“France is currently the leader in terms of innovation in health. Everywhere I look I see great enthusiasm, the dynamism of start-ups, and a shared ambition to innovate in order to improve patient wellbeing. Signing this framework agreement will help us further expand this movement” declared Marisol Touraine, Minister of Social Affairs and Health.

“We must strengthen partnerships between academia and the pharmaceutical world; this way, our research will progress and be more highly valued, therefore increasing our attractivity” said Thierry Mandon, the Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research.

See the first partnership with the Marseille Immunopôle to reinforce the leadership of French research in immuno-oncology

About MSDAVENIR – www.msdavenir.fr
MSDAVENIR is a research support fund in the life sciences that was set up in March 2015 and endowed with €75 million for a three-year period. Through the signing of partnerships, this fund aims to drive research in both scientific areas and societal fields related to research, education or health.
Contact: Stéphanie Martel – moc.kcrem@letram.einahpets

About INSERM – www.inserm.fr
Set up in 1964, the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) is a Public Scientific and Technical Research Establishment supervised jointly by the Ministry for Higher Education and Research and the Ministry for Health. The vocation of its scientists is study all diseases, from the most common to the most rare, through their work in biological and medical research and population health.
Contact: Priscille Rivière – rf.mresni@esserp – +33 (0)1 44 23 60 97

About Inserm Transfert – www.inserm-transfert.fr
Inserm Transfert SA is a private subsidiary of Inserm founded in 2000 that is responsible for the institute’s valorization mission. It manages the entire transfer of technologies and knowledge from Inserm’s research laboratories towards health industries – from invention disclosure and the maturation of innovative projects to the signing of industrial partnerships.
Contact: Céline Cortot – rf.trefsnart-mresni@totroc.enilec – +33 (0)1 55 03 01 68

Next Generation Scientific Innovation with the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform and Strategic Collaboration to Advance Programs in Aging, Cancer, Genomics and Microbiota

3DEXPERIENCE Plateform (c) Dassault Systèmes

Dassault Systèmes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, world leader in 3D design software, 3D Digital Mock Up and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), the only French public research institute to focus entirely on human health and the largest in Europe, today announced the signature of a joint agreement to accelerate clinical research programs by deploying a virtual collaborative platform.  The agreement will draw from the expertise of each organization to offer new perspectives for addressing scientific and health challenges of the 21^st century.

Inserm will use Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform to conduct its strategic biomedical research programs in the areas of aging, cancer, genomics and microbiota.  The platform provides Inserm with an integrated virtual environment for open collaborative research, unified laboratory management and biological and chemical modeling and simulation from Dassault Systèmes’ flagship brand dedicated to scientific excellence, BIOVIA.

In turn, Dassault Systèmes will leverage big data from Inserm’s research programs to calibrate and validate scientific models that can be applied to future technologies for the clinical research domain. These models will enable the company to develop next-generation industry solution experiences targeting clinical trials, to accelerate decision-making and to enable earlier efficacy and safety demonstration with virtual trials.

“We seek out technologies that further our mission to observe and understand mechanisms of the living body and ultimately transfer this knowledge to therapeutic solutions for new and mutating diseases that are affecting the world’s growing population,” said Professor Yves Lévy, Chairman and CEO, Inserm.

“We lead long-term, competitive scientific programs in human health and medicine and the Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform will help us support collaboration, project management, data, resources, traceability and other processes”

“At its core, Dassault Systèmes is a scientific company.  And at its core, Inserm explores the finest elements of life as we know it—fundamental science.  Clinical research has been the catalyst for life-changing discoveries during our lifetime, and introducing capabilities such as modeling and simulation coupled with big data science into translational science, opens up new horizons for investigation,” said Bernard Charlès, President & CEO, Dassault Systèmes.  “This fusion of advanced clinical research and the virtual world is a stepping stone to the future of precision medicine and brings us closer to harmonizing product, nature and life.”

For more information on Dassault Systèmes in the life sciences industry, visit https://www.3ds.com/industries/life-sciences/