A few words on my career

Appointed PU-PH (university professor and hospital practitioner) in 2004, I am Head of Department for nuclear medicine in Nantes University Hospital and at the ICO, and I coordinate, with Michel Chérel, team 13 of the CRCNA (Inserm U892, CNRS UMR 6299), ranked A+ by the AERES for immuno targeting, radioimmunotherapy and molecular imagery of tumours, a project that fits in with the Arronax cyclotron project.

In recent years I have invested in translational and clinical research in nuclear oncology and have obtained several endowments (PHRC, STIC, DHOS-INCA, DGOS-INCA, Fondation Avenir) and a Victoire de la Médecine in 2009. Our national and international collaborations (European TARCC project, NucSan project) have led us to propose Future Investments to accelerate our pluridisciplinary research: the Labex IRON (Innovative Radiopharmaceuticals in Oncology and Neurology) that I coordinate and the Equipex ArronaxPlus (under J. Barbet) in which I am a partner.

I have published 113 articles, have acquired an international reputation and in 2012 I was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite.

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

I am co-manager of the CRCNA Nuclear Oncology Research team (Inserm U892, CNRS UMR 6299) coordinator of Labex IRON (Innovative Radiopharmaceuticals in Oncology and Neurology) and manager of the Department of Nuclear Medicine for the Equipex ArronaxPlus. In addition, I am scientific manager for axis 1, Tumour Immunotargeting of innovative radionuclides (DHU ONCOGREFFE). I am the principal investigator (PI) or coordinator of several academic clinical trials, manager of Biophysics and the year DFGSM2 at the Nantes faculty of medicine and national manager of oncology training of the nuclear medicine DES.

A few words on my career

I have a PhD in Chemical Engineering and was recruited as CNRS Head of Research in 1986 in order to establish a new Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Materials section at Nantes, which rapidly earned an international reputation for my team and won the CNRS bronze medal in 1995. I was appointed DR2 CNRS (2000), and DR1 CNRS (2007).

This work resulted in many applications, particularly in the field of biotechnologies. For example, with the LIOAD we developed an injectable cement to prevent femoral neck fractures in subjects suffering from osteoporosis, the clinical studies for which will begin in the second semester of 2013. On the basis of this technology, the Graftys company was created in 2005 to design, manufacture and commercialize synthetic bone replacements based on calcium phosphate destined for the orthopaedic and dental surgery market. I am a consultant for this company via a public/private partnership. Graftys won a "Biotechnologies et Santé" sector prize in 2012 for the greatest growth nationally and in Europe in the last 5 years.

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

Since 2004 I have been manager of the rapidly expanding Joint Interdisciplinary Chemical Research Unit (CEISAM). Since 2011 I have been president of the "Mechanics, Materials, Energies, Civil Engineering" commission of the CCRRDT for the Pays de la Loire region, and of the PRES L'UNAM. Since June 2011 I have been a member of the scientific management of the CNRS Institut de Chimie as project leader.

A few words on my career

I got my PhD from the Université Paris 6 for my work at the IRCAM in the field of programming languages and computerized music (1981-1986). Following a period at the Centre Mondial de l'Informatique, I directed a joint team for Université Paris 6 and Rank Xerox France dedicated to object languages in liaison with Xerox PARC and ParcPlace Systems in California. In 1987 I co-created the ECOOP international conference, the 27th edition of which will take place this year.

When I arrived in Nantes in 1992 I devoted myself to creating the IT department of the École des Mines (EMN), which I directed until 2008. Concomitantly, between 1995 and 1999, I managed the Jules Verne laboratory jointly for the EMN and the Canadian OTI/IBM company, working on developing Java technologies. Between 2002 and 2008 I managed the OBASCO (Objects, ASpects and COmponents) for the Inria project.

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

I have been an IT professor (programming languages and software engineering) at the EMN and director of the LINA (Laboratoire Informatique de Nantes Atlantique) since 2008. This UMR brings together the Université de Nantes, the EMN, the CNRS and Inria, and is part of the Labex CominLabs. I am a member of the Management Board for the Images & Réseaux competitive cluster, a member of the executive bureau of the Labex CominLabs and president of the STIC-Maths commission shared by the CCRRDT and the PRES L'UNAM.

A few words on my career

As a professor of cardiology, a medical doctor and a doctor of science, I have had a career as a clinician and researcher in the domain of heart rhythm disorders. I was one of the pioneers of the genetics in this domain. For this work I received the Paul Binet prize from the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale and the Daniel Hermann prize from the Institut de France.

In the course of my career, I have successively been director of clinical research at the Nantes CHU, President of the medical commission of the Nantes CHU, coordinator of two projects, creator and coordinator of the clinical research delegation for the west inter-region, and vice-president of the national CHU research committee.

I currently direct the Inserm1087/CNRS6291 (ranked A+ by the AERES) research unit, employing 160 people, and the Institut du Thorax, a large structure (800 people) integrating research, care and training, which is an international reference in the domain of cardiovascular and metabolic pathologies. Today the Institut du Thorax directs its research toward early identification of chronic cardiovascular diseases and the risks thereof in order to develop the preventive and predictive medicine of tomorrow.

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

I am currently president of the CRBSP (Comité de Coordination pour la Recherche Biomédicale et en Santé Publique) for the Nantes CH&U.; This committee brings together representatives of the CHU, the university, the EPSTs, the Pays de la Loire and the urban community, with a view to establishing a joint strategy for regional biomedical research. I coordinate the VACARME project (an RFI project financed by the Pays de la Loire region).

A few words on my career

Philippe Moullier, MD, PhD is Director of the research INSERM Unit UMR 1089 entitled « Translational Gene Therapy for Retinal and Neuromuscular Diseases » at the University Hospital of Nantes, France. He was also at the same time the Scientific Director of GENETHON, a nonprofit research institution, located near Paris, from Jan 2009 through Dec 2011.

Dr Moullier is an Adjunct Professor at the Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Department at the University of Florida, USA. Prior to joining the University of Nantes, Dr Moullier conducted research at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia where he was engaged in the development of MLV and adenovirus-derived recombinant viral vectors and their in vivo application.

Dr Moullier was a postdoctoral fellow at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, received his PhD degree in Biochemistry from the University of Paris and obtained a Master in Immunology at the Pasteur Institute. He also was an intern in nephrology and internal medicine, and received his MD degree from the University of Paris. He serves as an expert to the EMA and is a member of the ANSM Gene Therapy Advisory Board, and on statewide, national and international advisory committees such as the American National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Gene Therapy Resource Program.

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

At the local State level, Dr Moullier’s role is to promote state-of-the-art research in gene therapy connecting the local research community to well established world class experts and labs. Cooperative Research Agreements have been signed between Dr Moullier’s lab and several US universities to promote key collaborations.

One important aspect of Dr Moullier’s activity is to develop locally an integrated vision of translational gene therapy activities including the establishment of unique core facilities for the production of research grade recombinant viral vectors, a BL2/BL3 large animal facility, a regulatory compliant pathology core and finally, a GMP-compliant manufacturing facility.

The present international call will give a unique opportunity for our local research community to boost our competitiveness especially to welcome technological and scientific breakthroughs. Selected candidates/teams will reinforce our dynamic and further indicate the high local State support for scientific research as well as new and innovative education programs.

A few words on my career

After completing my thesis in molecular biology and vegetal biotechnology at the Institut National de Recherche Agronomique at Versailles and at the Université d'Angers, I was recruited as an engineer at the INRA in Angers in 1993, where I developed genetic and biotechnology projects on Pelargonium.

From 2000 to 2002 I worked on the pathways of cytokine transduction in the mammary gland at the INRA in Jouy en Josas and in the NIH (Bethesda, MA, USA), where I acquired expertise in high-throughput transcriptome analysis. From 2003 to 2010 I directed the Génomique Fonctionnelle d'Arabidopsis group at the URGV in Evry, first as CR1 then as DR2.

Since 2010 I have joined the INRA in Angers where I am developing a new functional genomic project on apple trees. Since 2012 I have been the director of the new Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences (IRHS) in Angers. H index: 26; 35 publications; average IF 5.6. I have coordinated 5 research projects and been a partner in 18 others, 4 of which were international.

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

I direct the largest (230 people) laboratory in the SFR QUASAV, which conducts the majority of the research on seed-bearing ornamental and fruit-bearing species and on the quality and pathology of seeds on the national territory, with a specific positioning that is reputed internationally.

From a personal point of view, my experience and my involvement in Genoplant programmes makes me an expert in my field in the international community studying functional plant genomics.

A few words on my career

Most of my history has been at the Inra (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) in Nantes. I joined as a research assistant in 1973, became DRCE (special senior researcher) in 2005. During those years my activities were divided between conducting research programmes, organizing teams and laboratories and representing the centre in the outside world. As President of the Nantes INRA (1999-2007), in 2008 I was appointed president of the Centre Inra Angers-Nantes following the merging of the Nantes and Angers establishments. I remained there until 2011.

In 2004 I was recognized as the most-quoted French researcher in agronomy in the last twenty years. My research concerned polysaccharides (essentially pectins, vegetal substances that are present in apples and citrus fruit), their physico-chemical properties, the impact of certain technological treatments and their uses in various domains.

Thanks to my action on the Regional Consultative Committee for technological research and development, which I chaired from 2006 to 2011, my role in regional research has been confirmed over the years.

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

In 2012 I was invited to chair the Cap Aliment association, which organized a regional innovation platform dedicated to the food chain. This association derives from a grouping of LIGERIAA (Ligerian association of agricultural and food industries) and PONAN (regional cluster bringing together all the academic and transfer players concerned by food and nutrition). The creation of Cap Aliment in 2012 corresponded to a shared desire to improve collaboration between the academic world and regional agribusiness both in terms of research and teaching.

A few words on my career

I presented my thesis at the Université du Maine in 2003. This gave me an opportunity to collaborate with Russian researchers. I then spent a post-doctoral year at the University of Hokkaido, in Sapporo, Japan, working with an international team on the generation and detection of ultrasound by laser. In 2004 I joined the CNRS as a researcher and was assigned to the Laboratoire d'Acoustique de l'Université du Maine (LAUM).

Since then, I have contributed to several international collaborations, regularly working abroad for periods of one or two months on average (Santiago in Chile, Valencia in Spain, Nizhny Novgorod in Russia, Boston MA USA). I also contribute as an expert to several international projects each year (e.g. in the Netherlands, USA)

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

The Université du Maine is a relatively small establishment but it has an international profile. Specifically, the Institut Le Mans Acoustique (which relies particularly on the LAUM, where I work, the Laboratoire d'Acoustique de l'Université du Maine UMR-CNRS 6613, the largest acoustics laboratory in Europe, playing a leading role worldwide in this domain) wishes to build up its image internationally and to develop collaborative projects and a reputation based on the Research/Innovation/Training. This should enable it to introduce other laboratories/enterprises/training schemes in the Pays de la Loire region, with which it has many links (e.g. the Pôle ECND-PdL cluster), to an international dimension.

A few words on my career

I trained as a researcher in the mid 80s in the Laboratoire CNRS de Neurobiologie at the ENS (rue d'Ulm) and continued in the Cellular Biology Department of the New York University Medical School. In 1990 I was in charge of INSERM research and joined the Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique de Paris (Fondation Rothschild), a multidisciplinary institute that acted as a model for the creation of the CNRS. I joined an INSERM research unit at Nantes in 1995 and since then, as an INSERM Research Director, I have directed a team that focuses on molecular mechanisms of resistance to treatment of cerebral tumours. This research includes fundamental translational aspects that are the studied in clinical trials. My expertise thus covers fundamental research and translational and clinical research and is based on a knowledge of several domains of biology. As an expert, I have been (and continue to be) appointed to several research evaluation authorities and committees.

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

I am a 1st Class INSERM Research Director, a team director and a member of the management board of the Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie Nantes-Angers (CRCNA) which works in association with the CNRS, the INSERM and the universities of Angers and Nantes. This unit comprises the largest number of bio-health researchers in our region. Having worked as an INSERM scientific advisor for the Pays de la Loire (2008-2012), I am currently President of the CCRRDT Biologie –Santé committee and of the PRES L'UNAM.

A few words on my career

As a member of the Corps des Mines, I began my career as industrial development manager for the Direction Régionale de l'Industrie de la Recherche et de l'Environnement (DRIRE) for the Pays de la Loire.

I also a mission representative with the prefect of the region until 1990. I then became director of studies for the creation of the École des Mines de Nantes, and went on to become Assistant Director. Between 2001 and 2010 I managed the DRIRE and the Ecole des Mines de Nantes.

I then became director of the Association de Préfiguration for the Jules Verne IRT (Institut de Recherche Technologique) in Nantes, before becoming Director General of the Fondation de Coopération Scientifique (FCS) that has directed the Jules Verne IRT since April 2012.

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

I recently took an active interest in the construction of formative regional and inter-regional excellence projects developed for French investments in the future: Labex, Equipex and particularly the Institut de Recherche Technologique Jules Verne, directing the approach to training and governance.

As Director General of its governing institution, I coordinate the development of public-private technological research around academic and industrial players from several fields (Airbus, Aérolia, Daher, EADS, Bénéteau, STX, DCNS, ALSTOM). This research stresses the full production cycle, particularly the product/process match integrating difficulties relating to design and integrating complex parts and structures, at the intersection of new materials and new processes for designing the products of the future, developing innovative manufacturing processes for complex parts and structures (technologies to implement new, composite, metal materials and hybrid structures), designing and developing the factories of the future.

In addition to my current position, I am President of the Comité Consultatif Régional de la Recherche et du Développement (CCRRDT), a think tank of 200 members who contribute to constituting and structuring regional research at a European level.

A few words on my career

I am a graduate of the Ecole Centrale de Paris with a doctorate in applied mathematics. Between 1981 and 1992 I occupied different positions in the TOTAL group (exploration-production and gas), at the head office, in Indonesia and Japan. In 1992 I created Futura Corse Technopole.

I am currently a General Delegate for Atlanpole, a technology hub in the Nantes university catchment area and regional incubator for the Pays de la Loire. I also direct the Atlanpole Biotherapies competitive cluster and since 2010 I have been on the management board of Pôle Images Réseaux. I am also a member of the CESER for the Pays de la Loire.

I am a former president of the Retis national innovation network and of the EBN (European Business Innovation Network), Vice-President of the IASP (International Association of Science Parks and areas of innovation).

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

As a technology hub in the university and economic catchment area for the Nantes St. Nazaire conurbation, Atlanpole plays a central role in organizing the metropolitan innovation ecosystem, having already developed over 25 years many skills and trades for the leading economic, academic and innovation players. In addition, this role facilitates the intermeshing of the different industries present in its territory. As the incubator and pilot or co-pilot of several competitive clusters, Atlanpole is also a network leader in the regional and sometimes the inter-regional innovation zone.

A few words on my career

Alain Supiot was successively Professor at the University of Poitiers and then at University of Nantes before being elected at the Collège de France in 2012. In 1993, he founded the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme “Angel Guépin”. His career is singular by several years of research abroad (Berkeley, Florence, Berlin). In the late 90s, he directed the National Council on Human and Social Sciences (see: “For a political science of man and society” - PUF-Quadriga, 2001). Since 2008, he has founded and has directed the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Nantes, which hosts in residence scientists from all continents.

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

As a knowledge transmitter, Alain Supiot has been weaving for several years lasting relationships with many international academic networks that enrich local teams, in particular through the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) (and since 2012 through the Collège de France). He plays a role of initiator, of creator of opportunities, of support and enrichment of projects and programs (Relmin, Lascaux, Staraco, etc...), having therefore within the IAS a quirky look and a real diversity of approaches by the presence of foreign researchers in residence (north and south) selected for their excellence and the innovative nature of their work.

A few words on my career

With a PhD in cellular and molecular biology from the Université de Bordeaux II, I spent two years doing post-doctoral research at Chapel Hill University in North Carolina, during which time I had the good fortune to participate in the first work on exploiting data from bacterial genomes. I was recruited as a microbiology lecturer at the Université d'Angers in 1990 and appointed Professor in the same university in 2000. Since being recruited, my research has focused on plant-microorganism interactions, initially concentrating on mycorrhizal symbiotic interactions through proteomic approaches and, for the last ten years, on mechanisms of transmitting pathogenic fungi through seeds, 63 publications, H index: 18.

My role in the Research/Innovation/Training ecosystem in the Pays de la Loire and beyond

Since 2008 I have directed the QUASAV federative research structure which combines 8 research units (360 people) and I am the assistant director of a joint research unit with 230 people. This position has led me to organize and coordinate several structural projects for the Pôle Végétal Régional, including the 2000-2006 Semences and the 2007-2013 Campus du Végétal projects (€25M).

Recent technological developments have enabled a change of scale in microbial genomics because it is now possible to go beyond the individual-centred study to a global analysis of communities of individuals (metagenomics). Similarly, these developments have made it possible to apply "omic" approaches to plants of agronomic interest and to their associated pathogens, simultaneously generating the necessity to develop fine phenotyping tools for these vegetal species and their interactions with their biotic and abiotic environment. The challenge is also to be able to integrate all the data thus collected in order to construct predictive models that are transferable to horticultural production sectors.