Director: Frédéric Saltel

The Inserm U1312 laboratory focuses on rare and poor-prognosis cancers, including liver cancers, triple-negative breast cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, sarcoma, glioblastoma, and onco-dermatological diseases.

Established in January 2022, this new unit brings together 11 teams working in three main areas:

• Tumor microenvironment and cancer metabolism

• Cancer genetics and molecular oncogenesis

• Treatment resistance and innovative therapies

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Director: Julie Déchanet-Merville

Deputy Director: Patrick Blanco

The ImmunoConcept research unit (CNRS UMR 5164) focuses on the study of the various components of the immune system in the contexts of viral infections, aging, cancer, and autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. The unit also engages in a conceptual reflection on immunology through approaches grounded in the philosophy of biology.

It brings together a unique combination of expertise, uniting fundamental researchers—both in immunology and in philosophy—with clinicians. The unit is composed of four teams, each with distinct yet complementary areas of specialization.

Team 1: Contribution of Lymphocytes to Immune Responses
Leads: Julie Déchanet-Merville and Victor Appay

This team investigates the roles of conventional (alpha/beta) and unconventional (gamma/delta) lymphocytes in chronic viral infections. It also explores how aging affects these lymphocyte populations. To do so, the team uses various strategies, including translational approaches in collaboration with clinicians, as well as in vivo experimental models.

Team 2: Immunology of Cancer and Inflammatory Diseases
Leads: Maya Saleh and Nicolas Larmonier

This team combines transcriptomic (scRNA-seq), translational, and experimental modeling approaches to study the role of myeloid cells in cancer immunosurveillance and in inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis.

Team 3: Immunology of Autoimmune Diseases
Leads: Patrick Blanco and Marie-Elise Truchetet

This team aims to identify the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic scleroderma, multiple sclerosis, and obesity-related inflammation. Their research is conducted in close connection with clinical practice, as well as through experimental models of disease.

Team 4: Medicine and Conceptual Biology
Leads: Thomas Pradeu and Maël Le Moine

This interdisciplinary team explores concepts, models, and explanations in contemporary biology. While their core focus is immunology, their work also extends to microbiology, evolution, systems biology, developmental biology, and physiology. Their approach—referred to as “philosophy in biology and medicine”—offers an innovative integration of philosophical analysis with experimental and medical biology.

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Director: Isabelle Sagot

The Institute of Cellular Biochemistry and Genetics (IBGC) is a fundamental research institute dedicated to studying cellular functions using a variety of model organisms, including yeast, fungi, mammalian cells, Drosophila, and nematodes.

Research at the IBGC focuses extensively on mitochondrial functions and dysfunctions. This work spans numerous areas, such as cell biology aspects (including fusion–fission dynamics), bioenergetics, and structural studies that connect respiratory chain organization to mitochondrial biogenesis and ultrastructure. The role of mitochondria in both normal and pathological processes—including apoptosis and cancer—is also a major focus. Yeast models of genetic diseases have been developed and are used for drug screening.

The cell cycle, studied in yeast and Drosophila models, represents another major research area. Teams investigate the mechanisms that ensure proper chromosome transmission, the establishment of polarity, and cellular rearrangements during entry into or exit from quiescence. They also explore how cell growth is linked to the cell cycle and nutrient availability.

Protein structures responsible for cell death or disease are examined using yeast models to study Aβ (amyloid beta) folding and the cellular basis of its toxicity. Researchers also explore specific protein structures involved in programmed cell death and other cellular responses associated with non-self recognition, using the original Podospora anserina model.

Approaches combining biochemistry, cell biology, and genetics are employed by most IBGC groups. The methodologies and technologies used are highly diverse, including crystallography, electron microscopy, live-cell imaging, chromatography, and more. These techniques are systematically integrated with molecular genetics.

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Director: Frédéric Bringaud

The MFP laboratory (Microbiologie Fondamentale et Pathogénicité) is a research unit of the CNRS and the University of Bordeaux. The main objective of MFP is to advance fundamental scientific understanding of host–pathogen interactions involved in disease replication and development.

Its overarching goal is to elucidate the consequences of molecular interactions at multiple levels—up to epidemiological dynamics—and to contribute to the development of antimicrobial strategies.

MFP currently comprises seven research groups working across virology (HIV, adenoviruses, hepatitis C and B, parvoviruses), bacteriology (enterobacteria and others), parasitology (trypanosomes, leishmania, toxoplasma), and mycology (Candida).

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Director: Didier Lacombe

The unit’s research project adopts a translational and integrative approach described as “from the patient’s bedside to the bench,” aiming to decipher the pathophysiology of certain rare diseases. Conversely, a “bench-to-bedside” strategy ensures that research discoveries are effectively translated into medical applications for patients.

Within the laboratory, this translational approach is organized into two main research areas:

• The first area focuses on rare genetic developmental disorders, including Goldenhar syndrome (also known as oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum, or OAVS), whose genetic determinants remain unknown, and Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, which is linked to two known genes, CREBBP and EP300.

• The second area investigates energy and lipid metabolism in spinocerebellar degenerations and Rasopathies (notably Costello syndrome and neurofibromatosis type I).

The unit’s internationally recognized expertise in the clinical and molecular diagnosis of these diseases has enabled the identification of numerous genetic variants across several genes.

In addition, this research combines fundamental approaches to elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms involving the proteins associated with these diseases, and translational approaches to understand how disruptions in these mechanisms contribute to disease features. Building on this expertise, the team has already demonstrated mitochondrial alterations in certain subtypes of hereditary spastic paraplegia and hereditary ataxia. To further these insights, the laboratory is developing projects to investigate the role of mitochondrial morphology and energy function in the development of these disorders.

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Director: Thierry Couffinhal

Unit 1034 (Inserm / University of Bordeaux) aims to understand how blood vessels develop and form within organs—an essential issue in developmental biology, regenerative medicine, and surgery (including ischemic disease and transplantation), as well as in oncology and ophthalmology.

The normal function of tissues depends on an adequate oxygen supply delivered by the vascular system. Atherosclerosis (damage to large vessels, or macroangiopathy), along with diabetes and hypertension (damage to small vessels, or microangiopathy), reduces vessel lumen diameter and arterial perfusion, ultimately causing tissue ischemia. Myocardial angina, infarction, and stroke are major causes of mortality, and also lead to peripheral artery disease, nephropathy, blindness, pre-eclampsia, neurodegeneration, and osteoporosis.

In response to ischemia (a reduction in blood flow and oxygen), the body initiates the formation of new blood vessels and collateral circulation to compensate for inadequate perfusion. This natural process is highly effective in some patients and protects them from the consequences of atherosclerotic disease. However, the effectiveness of this bypass mechanism varies widely between individuals, and the reasons for this variability remain poorly understood.

A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of functional post-ischemic blood vessels is critical to improving treatments for ischemic conditions and developing therapeutic strategies that stimulate angiogenesis in affected tissues.

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Director: Béatrice Turcq

The TBMCore unit brings together the technological facilities and platforms of Inserm, CNRS, and the University of Bordeaux within the department.

Since 2011, TBMCore has consolidated a network of technology platforms that are open to all academic laboratories in Bordeaux and across France. Some private companies also benefit from its services.

Dedicated staff oversee the daily operations of these platforms. TBMCore receives regular support from the Regional Council of Nouvelle-Aquitaine to equip and maintain its facilities.

The TBMCore platforms are designed to support basic and translational research in biology at the tissue, cellular, and molecular levels. Their mission is to provide laboratories with advanced technological resources, user training, and support for technological innovation.

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