The leader of the Nantes IHU project Jean-Paul Soulillou said : « Since we announced our bid back in April, the Nantes site has developed more partnerships in industry and in academia and has earned itself several Honours that have served to cement and to strengthen its position in transplantation science and immunotherapy on a global scale. This school is the first of its kind, and it both secures and reinforces the European emphasis of our teaching in partnership with Novartis – a major company who proposed to join as Founding Member of the project – and with 2 of the best universities in Europe ».
The ESTS, the European School of Transplantation Sciences, is aimed at medical students and those working towards doctorates as well as health professionals looking for the chance to improve their knowledge or reach news jobs in the specialised domain of transplantation sciences and immunotherapy. The ESTS provides a range of specialist programmes of study including a European PhD in Transplantation Sciences, a course specialising in life sciences as part of the Audencia Nantes School of Management MBA / IHU, the first telemedicine qualification in France, and a course in translational medicine as well as international congress meetings with an international reach including NAT (Nantes/Actualités/Transplantation), and semestrial sessions organized around the venue of professors with international reputation. 2
Some of the specialised programmes of study:
1. Creation of a European PhD in Transplantation Sciences (coordination: professors R. Josien / Mohty) in partnership with reputed establishments including Bellvitge Hospital, Barcelona (Prof Joseph Grinyo), and Imperial College and Hammersmith Hospital in London (.Prof Jane Apperley) This PhD is scheduled to get going in 2011
2. a course specialising in life sciences as part of the Audencia Nantes School of Management MBA / IHU, including a 2 week symposium with an international partner. This course began in September this year.
3. Setting up the first telemedicine qualification in France France “Telemedicine, Management, Ethics & Planning” working with the French Association for the Development of Telemedicine ANTEL. This course will be launched in 2011 and is aimed at seasoned health professionals and others in the field (Profs J. Dantal and M. Giral).
4. A course in translational medicine and the establishment of a series of short hospital secondments for students who have completed the scientific elements of the course. This new course allows, for the first time, a science student to spend a week every 2 months in a hospital, gaining clinical experience alongside their university studies. The course, in its trial stage for 2 years, has been a great success among students and has been co-signed by the CEO of the French National Institute for Medical Health and Research INSERM, and the director of Nantes Hospital.
Nantes research teams: Awards, and a world-wide reputation
The 2010 Le Monde Research Prize
The French newspaper Le Monde has been supporting young students and research initiatives for thirteen years now with its Prix Le Monde de la recherche, which recognises the work of young French-speaking researchers working in fields that can make a difference to our scientific, social or artistic environment. Nicolas Poirier is a post-doctorate at the ITUN-INSERM UMR 643 research laboratory and is the recipient of the 2010 Prix Le Monde de la recherche for the achievements he made in his research work led by Prof Gilles Blancho Director of ITUN the Institute of Urology and Nephrology Transplantation, and by Dr Bernard Vanhove Research Director (DR2) at CNRS the French National Research Centre at UMR 643, partnered also by TcL Pharma.
About the Nantes IHU project
The Nantes University, Nantes University Hospital, the Nantes National Veterinary School (Oniris), Nantes urban area and the region Pays de la Loire intend to create a University Hospital Institute (Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire, IHU), called the "European Centre for Transplantation Sciences and Immunotherapy". This patient-centered translational research project is focused on curing diseases by transplantation of organs, cells and genes opening new frontiers in regenerative medicine with a strong unifying bound: immunology. The TSI-IHU project (led by Professor Jean-Paul Soulillou and involving over 1000 staff) is establishing itself as the European leading program in Transplantation Sciences, as Europe's busiest centre for kidney transplants and leading pancreas transplant centre and one of the most visible spots in gene and cell therapy in France (AFM partnership), the TSI-IHU project combines clinical laboratories (5 joint INSERM and INRA / University units), Nantes National Veterinary School and university groups. For the first time in Europe, TSI-IHU brings together research groups working on the organ and hematopoietic cell transplantation, but also new transplantation frontiers: allo or xenogenic cells or therapeutic genes. The project envisions to create new companies and over 800 high qualified jobs. Key partnerships have been signed with local biotech (9 have created within the IHU project), as well as with leading pharmaceutical groups (Grimaud Group, LFB, Roche and Novartis°.
Press Contacts
ALIZE RP Caroline Carmagnol + 33 6 64 18 99 59 caroline@alizerp.com Anne-Sophie Cosquéric + 33 1 42 68 86 41 Anne-sophie@alizerp.com
CHU de Nantes Sandrine Delage + 33 2.40.08.72.09 Sandrine.DELAGE@chu-nantes.fr Atlanpole Biotherapies Emilie Ménoury +33 2 40 25 26 36 menoury@atlanpole.fr
