Chairs of excellence in biology-health: 15 international researchers awarded

The France 2030 investment plan aims at transforming over the long term key segments of the French economy, including in health, through tech and industrial innovation, and turn France not only into a player, but also a “world leader of tomorrow”.

From fundamental research to translational research 

Thanks to the France 2030 plan, but also the Innovation Santé 2030 plan, the segment dedicated to biomedical research will receive significant funding. The French government wants to continue its action to improve the international reputation of French research in health, in terms of excellence, but also regarding “its attractive deployment conditions all over the territory”.

Among programs in place, chairs of excellence in biology-health provide funding over five years for “ambitious research projects led by world-class men and women researchers, by embedding fundamental research and translational research”, i.e. research turning discoveries, observations and ideas designed in labs in practical applications. Ten research subjects are highlighted, such as integrative biology and cellular biology, physiology of health, disease, and aging, neurosciences and nervous system disorders, immunotherapies and even prevention, diagnostics and treatment of human diseases.

A 80 million euros budget

As emphasized by the Ministry of Research, one of the key challenges in becoming a global leader is attracting or retaining women and men researchers who are the world’s best in their area of expertise within the country.

With this goal in mind, the chairs of excellence in biology and health offer top-tier scientists from around the globe funding ranging from €2 to €5 million to carry out ambitious new large scale projects in France over a five-year period. This initiative, the ministry adds, aims to “fund around forty chairs with a total budget of €80 million.” These excellence chairs, which are linked to a specific laboratory identified during the project submission phase, are also intended to “serve as a springboard for applying to major European calls for proposals,” such as ERC (European Research Council) grants.

Researchers who want to come to France

Following a first round of 22 awardees in 2024, 15 new outstanding scientists have now been selected. Laureates include seven women researchers and eight men researchers, with three who chose to come to France to lead their research project. Two French awardees, says the French ministry of research, had until now a job in the United Kingdom and an American laureate was working in the US. 

The chairs of excellence are indeed open to men and women researchers currently working abroad who wish to establish a team or join a research structure in France, as well as to top-level scientists “already working at a French institution, whose retention in France is essential.”

An alumna among the laureates

Among these researchers who all had an international background and/or career, is an alumna: Professor Simonetta Gribaldo, an Italian national. She first completed her doctoral training in Italy, then went on to pursue postdoctoral studies in Paris, at Pierre and Marie Curie University (now Sorbonne University) and the University of Orsay (now Paris-Saclay University), as well as at the Institut Pasteur.

Now a professor and head of the Microbial Cell Evolution team at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, her work aims to “understand the evolution of bacteria in order to better fight pathogens.”

he project that earned her the Biology-Health excellence chair is titled HUMAN-ARCHAEA, a project that seeks to shed light on “the key players in cell growth and division in human-associated archaea.” Archaea, a new category of life forms related to bacteria, are “widely known as microorganisms thriving in extreme environments”, including, notably, the mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, and intestines. The findings from the HUMAN ARCHAEA project will provide “unprecedented insights into the biology of archaea” and are also expected to have a significant impact across many areas of research, particularly in human and animal health.