Institutions

Agroécologie – Dijon

The Dijon Agroecology Research Unit brings together researchers and research professors from INRA, the University of Burgundy and AgroSup Dijon. This UMR is the result of the merger of several INRA research units focused on Microbiology and Microbial Ecology of Soils, Genetics and Crop Plant Improvement, Ecology and Weed Control in Cultivated Systems, Plant Pathology. The research developed within the UMR aims to advance the knowledge of biotic interactions (in particular plant-plants and plant-microorganisms) within agrosystems in order to design innovative crop systems that respect the environment… This research is conducted at different levels of integration (from molecule to community) and spatio-temporal scales (microcosm, plot, landscape, crop cycle, rotation, etc.). They implement complementary expertise in the fields of agronomy, ecology, biology, physiology and ecophysiology, genetics, microbiology, modelling. The unit is structured into 4 poles: (i) Sustainable management of weeds, (ii) Genetic and environmental determinants of plant adaptation, (iii) Mechanisms and management of plant-microorganism interactions, (iv) Soil biology and ecosystem functions.

Institut National de Recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement (INRAE)

The National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) was born from the merger of IRSTEA (National Research Institute in Science and Technology for the Environment and Agriculture) and the INRA (National Institute of Agronomic Research) on January 1, 2020. Thanks to the complementarity of disciplines and both technological and scientific skills present within the two scientific structures, INRAE ​​carries out research activities to meet the societal issues such as food and nutritional security, the transition of agriculture, the management of natural resources and ecosystems, the erosion of biodiversity, the circular economy and natural risks. The RECOVER joint research unit, between INRAE ​​and the University of Aix-Marseille, has a scientific project focused on natural risks and the functioning of ecosystems. This involves, on the one hand, i) developing knowledge on the risks associated with fires, hydrology, hydraulic structures, as well as decision support in this area, and on the other hand ii) d ” study the dynamics of aquatic and forest ecosystems under the constraint of global change, the problem of ecosystem restoration and develop tools and methods for assessing the state of ecosystems. Within RECOVER, the risks associated with hydraulic structures are approached from the point of view of geomechanics in the G2DR team by relying both on experimentation (in the laboratory and in situ) and on modeling, scale of the material as that of the structure. For more information: https://www6.paca.inrae.fr/recover/

Aix Marseille Université

Aix-Marseille University is today the largest French-speaking university. It has 74,000 students in initial and continuing training and 8,000 staff. All fields of knowledge are taught: arts, humanities, languages and social sciences, law and political science, economics and management, health, science and technology. Bachelor, master and doctoral degrees are awarded, but also university technology degrees, engineering degrees, health degrees, as well as university degrees. The quality of student life in our university, a condition for growth and success, is a concern of our university community, which wishes to offer each student the best possible working conditions, sports and cultural life. Aix-Marseille University brings together 130 research structures, most often in partnership with national research organisations. Five main areas are mainly invested: energy, environmental and universe sciences, life and health sciences, advanced sciences and technologies, and human and social sciences. Transdisciplinarity and the promotion of knowledge are the major axes of development of Aix-Marseille University, a university with international ambition and rooted in its territory.

Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)

BRGM or Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières is the French public institution of reference in earth sciences applications to manage resources and risks of the soil and subsoil. It constitutes the French National Geological Survey. Its activity is divided into 5 missions (scientific research, public policy support, international cooperation, mining safety and training) and 10 major areas of geosciences (geology, mineral resources, geothermal energy, CO2 geological storage, risks, after-mining, water, environment and environmental technologies, laboratories and experimentation, information systems).

CEA (Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives)

Within the Military Applications Department (DAM) of the CEA, the Analysis, Surveillance and Environment Department (DASE) relies, in the field of geophysics, on data acquired in various technologies (seismic, infrasound, hydroacoustics) to accomplish its missions. These concern the analysis of continuous seismic activity as part of its mission to alert authorities in the event of foreign nuclear tests, strong earthquakes and tsunamis. For example, the seismic networks of metropolitan France and French Polynesia maintained since the 1960s provide the basic data necessary to alert the authorities in the event of earthquakes and tsunamis.

The expertise acquired in this field is reflected in the tsunami warning centers operational at CEA: the National Tsunami Warning Center (Cenalt), for tsunamis in the western Mediterranean and Atlantic that could impact the French coasts, and the Center Polynesian Tsunami Prevention (CPPT) in Tahiti, for Pacific tsunamis that may impact Polynesian coasts.

DASE’s activities in geophysics are carried out within an international framework, with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), and, for tsunamis, with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of Unesco.

Centre de Recherche sur la Terre et le Climat Georges Lemaître

The Georges Lemaître Centre for Earth and Climate Research is part of the Earth and Life Institute of the Catholic University of Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve. This centre succeeded the Institut d’Astronomie et de Géophysique Georges Lemaître, created in 1965 under the aegis of Monsignor Georges Lemaître, father of the Big Bang theory. The members of the Centre and the Institute conduct research in the various orientations of Earth, Space and Environmental Sciences and participate in the teaching of these disciplines. Most of the Centre’s staff are specialists in climate modelling. Their research focuses on the astronomical theory of paleoclimates and, in particular, on the modelling of glacial-interglacial cycles and warm climates. They also study the climate of recent millennia, the impact of human activities on recent and future climate, and the predictability of climate on seasonal to decadal time scales. They benefit from close collaboration with the Royal Observatory of Belgium, the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium and the Royal Institute for Space Aeronomy of Belgium.

Centre d’Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive (CEFE) – Montpellier

Created in 1961, the Centre d’Études Phytosociologiques et Écologiques de Montpellier became the Centre d’Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive (CEFE) in 1988. The laboratory is organized into four scientific departments (Evolutionary Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation, Functional Ecology and Interactions, Ecology and Societies). These departments are supported by common technical platforms. Four transversal themes coordinate CEFE’s scientific contribution to the major international themes of ecological research:

1. Human action, anthropized systems and conservation ecology. 2. Adaptive value of life history traits in the presence of constraints. 3. Role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning. 4. Global changes and ecosystem functioning.

The laboratory’s work is carried out in a context of evolutionary biology and ecology and focuses in particular on the dynamics of adaptation in a heterogeneous environment in space and time. They also aim to provide answers to questions about biodiversity management and conservation. Much of the research focuses on Mediterranean and tropical ecosystems. The objective is to establish scenarios for the evolution of ecological systems and strategies for their conservation, restoration or rehabilitation.

Centre d’Écologie et des Sciences de la Conservation – MNHN

CESCO is interested in biodiversity conservation, mobilizing ecological and evolutionary approaches, as well as interfaces with social sciences (political science, management science and psychology). The URBA team develops action-research projects to meet a major societal demand for knowledge and management of biodiversity in urban areas. Its objective is to identify the mechanisms at work in the installation and the future of nature in the city in order to facilitate the emergence of ecological urban planning.

Centre d’études et d’expertises sur les risques, l’environnement, la mobilité et l’aménagement

CEREMA is the public reference institution for developing and capitalising on public expertise in the fields of spatial planning, territorial cohesion and ecological and energy transition. It offers unique expertise in the fields of mobility, transport infrastructure, urban planning and construction, resource conservation, risk prevention, road and maritime safety and the ability to integrate these different skills in the construction of territorial projects. As a centre of multidisciplinary scientific and technical resources and expertise, it supports the development, implementation and evaluation of public policies at both national and local levels. It provides direct support to government services, local authorities and companies (pre-AMO, AMO, specific operational missions, etc.). It develops, experiments and disseminates innovative solutions. With more than 2800 agents throughout the metropolitan area and a historical knowledge of local issues and contexts, CEREMA is resolutely committed to the challenge of sustainable development of territories, to develop the public policies of tomorrow.

Centre international de recherche sur l’environnement et le développement (CIRED)

The International Research Centre for Environment and Development[Cired] is an interdisciplinary research group with a broad economic focus, created in 1973 at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) by Ignacy Sachs, on the basis of a nucleus gathered since 1971 under the name of Groupe de recherche sur la stratégie de développement. Based on a problem of the articulation of development challenges and environmental protection, in the wake of the debates generated by the United Nations Conference on Human Development in Stockholm (1972) and in response to the theses of the Club of Rome (Meadows et al., 1972), Cired is dedicated to the study of the relationships between modes of economic regulation and the genesis of the technological universes that structure the relationships between human activities and the natural and built biophysical environment. The aim is to understand how institutions, economic incentives and social conventions shape technical choices and consumption patterns, and then to study the economic and social feedback of their environmental impacts. These questions largely concern the short-term – long-term articulation. This is why the work carried out at Cired has always been underpinned by a prospective modelling effort and by a constant dialogue with the natural and engineering sciences. This multidisciplinary approach, reflected in the very composition of the team, has enabled it to meet the challenge of an integrated analysis of the challenges of sustainable development, taking into account the interdependencies between sectors of activity and between types of challenges (energy and food security, climate, technological risks, economic globalization, poverty reduction) This multidisciplinary approach explains the institutional backing of Cired. It became a research unit associated with the Centre national de la recherche scientifique[CNRS] in 1976, and integrated the systems of AgroParisTech (Institut des sciences et industries du vivant et de l’environnement) in 2000, the École nationale des ponts et chaussées (ENPC, now École des Ponts ParisTech) in 2004, and the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement[CIRAD] in 2004. These institutions thus affirm their willingness to address the issues that the sustainable development issue raises for the sectors of activity for which they are responsible within an integrated framework and not by juxtaposing sectoral approaches.

Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM)

The Monaco Scientific Centre (CSM) is a public research institute created in 1960 at the initiative of Prince Rainier III. Dedicated to scientific research, the WSC is divided into three departments: a marine biology department specializing in the study of the functioning of tropical and Mediterranean marine ecosystems and the effects of climate change on these ecosystems; a polar biology department specializing in the study of penguins as indicators of changes in the polar ecosystem; and a medical biology department composed of three teams specialized in research against cancer and gene therapy, degenerative neuromuscular diseases and human microbiome. This department also includes a funding agency for clinical research in the Principality, a Human Health and Environment cluster approved as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Health and Sustainable Development and an International Sickle Cell Disease Observatory (MONACORD). The WSC is chaired by Prof. Patrick Rampal, former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Nice.

CHU Grenoble Alpes

Since its creation on January 1, 2016, the Université Grenoble Alpes has been regularly ranked at the top 100 of several major international rankings. The UGA manages 45,000 students and 23 faculties, schools and institutes, including the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy. Grenoble Alpes University Hospital is a 2000-bed tertiary care hospital including all medical, surgical and obstetrical activities. The Bacteriology-Hospital Hygiene Laboratory is involved in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. He manages the National Reference Centre Francisella tularensis, agent of tularemia. Our research activities are carried out in the TIMC-IMAG laboratory (UMR CNRS/UGA 5525). They concern the development and evaluation of new diagnostic and therapeutic technologies for infectious diseases, and more particularly zoonoses.

CNR – Compagnie Nationale du Rhône

Created in 1933, the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) received from the French State in 1934 the concession of the Rhône river for the development and exploitation of hydroelectric works according to 3 missions: electricity production, navigation , irrigation and other agricultural uses. CNR has built and operates 18 low- and medium-drop hydroelectric developments built from 1948 to 1986 between the Swiss border and the Mediterranean Sea. The facilities are made up of 19 hydroelectric power stations, 19 dams and 14 large-size locks. CNR is a general interest limited company with balanced public – private shareholders.

Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM)

Cnam is a large organization that is part of higher education. Its main mission, since its creation in 1804, has been continuous professional training. The Paris centre has 64,000 auditors and is run by 348 teacher-researchers working in 21 research laboratories. Cnam is also present in the French Regions and in several foreign countries. The Chair of Geotechnics was created after the accident at the Malpasset dam (1959) and has had three successive officials: Georges Filliat, Claude Plumelle and Philippe Delmas. The team of teachers consists of two professors and two lecturers. Their teaching and research work focuses on geotechnical foundations and structures, soil and rock reinforcement, earthworks and roads, underground works, hydrogeology and environmental geotechnics.

Département de Chimie Moléculaire (DCM) – Grenoble

The Department of Molecular Chemistry (DCM) is a laboratory of the Université Grenoble Alpes and the CNRS (UMR CNRS-UGA 5250) located on the Saint-Martin-d’Hères – Gières campus. It brings together more than 150 people who work in two main areas: chemistry for health and chemistry for nanosciences. It is structured around major themes that include theoretical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, biomolecules (DNA, peptides) and organic synthesis. Benefiting from a very good technical platform (nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, etc.), it is associated with actions focused on therapeutic, diagnostic and technological applications with university and industrial laboratories.

ESPCI Paris

ESPCI Paris – PSL trains engineers of innovation able to invent the future and to answer the challenges of the world of tomorrow. With a rich history of 6 Nobel Prize and 570 teacher-researchers in 11 Units of research, ESPCI creates the innovation by encouraging the interdisciplinarity and the dialog between fundamental and applied sciences. The laboratory Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH, UMR 7636) is a multidisciplinary experimental research unit in the fields of the mechanics of fluids and solids (engineering), physics, biology and chemistry). Its activity ranges from fundamental research to applications, with important relationships with the industrial world concerning mainly the innovation in processes. The OPUR organization explores and develop inexpensive and practical alternate water sources and gather both individuals and organizations interested in achieving these goals.

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Institut des géosciences de l’environnement (IGE)

The Institute of Environmental Geosciences (IGE, UMR 5001) is a public research laboratory created in 2017 as a result of the merger of the Laboratory of Environmental Glaciology and Geophysics (LGGE) and the Laboratory for the Study of Transfers in Hydrology and Environment (LTHE). IGE conducts research on climate, the water cycle, the cryosphere and natural and anthropized environments. This research aims to better understand the processes that govern the functioning of different geophysical environments (ocean, physico-chemical atmosphere, cryosphere, watersheds, critical area), their interactions and responses to anthropogenic pressures, as well as the adaptation and resilience processes of societies. The major areas of research are alpine areas, polar areas, the global ocean and intertropical areas. The IGE is based on a strategy combining observation (field observations, national observation services, space missions), instrumental development and modelling.

Institut National des Sciences et Techniques Nucléaires (INSTN)

INSTN is a public institution of higher education, administered by the CEA (Commissariat à l’Énergie atomique et aux énergies Alternatives), and placed under the joint supervision of the ministries in charge of Higher Education, Industry, Economy and Environment. INSTN was created in 1956 and has been supporting the growth of nuclear energy for 60 years by contributing to the development of the human resources needed for research and industry at all levels of qualification, from operator to researcher.

Institut photonique d’analyse non-destructive européen des matériaux anciens (IPANEMA)

IPANEMA is a service and research unit (CNRS, Ministry of Culture and Communication and University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines) located on the site of the SOLEIL synchrotron on the Saclay plateau. It is a laboratory for the development of advanced methods for the characterization of materials from archaeology, palaeo-environments, palaeontology and cultural heritage, and for supporting synchrotron research with external users hosted on the platform. To this end, IPANEMA develops and makes available a set of techniques to prepare samples, study artifacts and samples, and statistically analyze the data sets collected, using the platforms and major instruments of the University of Paris-Saclay.

Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG)

IPAG works on stellar and planetary formation, from the initial phases of cloud collapse to the physics and chemistry of circumstellar disks and the formation of planets, as well as star-disk interaction via the stellar magnetosphere. IPAG is also working on plasmas and physical processes involved in accretion-ejection phenomena around young stellar objects and compact objects, where the energies involved are enormous, with relativistic effects. In planetary sciences, IPAG studies solar-terrestrial interactions and space meteorology, planetary sub-surfaces, small bodies of the solar system, and the chemical evolution of primitive matter. To support this thematic research, IPAG is involved in the construction and development of many instruments that equip the most powerful international telescopes in the world. IPAG also develops and operates instruments on space probes to study the internal structure of the bodies of the solar system, the groundwater of Mars, and their atmospheric composition.

Institut polaire français Paul-Émile-Victor

The IPEV is the projection agency for resources in the polar regions for the benefit of French academic research. It is in the form of a GIP, located in Brest and composed of 9 members including the Ministry of Research, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the CNRS. One of the Institute’s objectives is to coordinate, support and implement, as a capacity agency, national and international scientific and technological programmes in the Arctic, Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic polar regions. In this context, the ENPI supports programmes in the polar regions of both hemispheres. In Antarctica, it manages, coordinates and maintains the Concordia and Dumont d’Urville bases in Antarctica, the AWIPEV station in Spitsbergen, and ensures scientific logistics and the implementation of research programmes in the French sub-Antarctic islands of Crozet, Kerguelen and Amsterdam. The CNRS – University of Rennes I ECOBIO “Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution” UMR is a multidisciplinary unit of ecology whose unifying axis is the biodiversity of continental and island ecosystems, from the molecule to the ecosystem. As such, it develops programs in the Canadian Arctic and sub-Antarctic islands.

Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre)

The scientific objective of the laboratory is the physical and chemical study of the planet Earth, based on the observation of natural objects, experimentation and process modelling. The research is structured around 3 main issues:

1.Can we predict earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, variations in the Earth’s magnetic field?This prediction requires a long work of observation and data analysis, experimental and numerical modelling of phenomena to understand the observations, as well as work on the application and dissemination of our results.

2.What shapes the Earth’s surface?As a place where internal geodynamics, fault activity and external forcing (erosion, deposition) occur, relief remains a complex object that requires observation, imagery, modelling and theory.

3.How do rocks subject to natural or anthropogenic temporal variations in their environment change?

Mineralogical and geochemical markers are used to quantify and model the evolution of rocks and soils, in response to natural (pressure, temperature, deformation, water…) or anthropogenic (pollution, exploitation of deposits, waste storage,…) imbalances through laboratory experimentation, fine acquisition on large instruments and modelling.

Institut des Sciences de la Terre de Paris

The ISTeP is a Sorbonne University-CNRS joint laboratory with about fifty researchers and permanent professors. The main research themes of the unit are the rheology of the crust and lithosphere, the dynamics of sedimentary basins, mountain ranges and continental margins, and biomineralization as tracers of current and fossil environments. The research conducted within ISTeP is based on an approach ranging from field to themomechanical numerical modelling and physico-chemical analyses using various tools. The Institute has developed numerous national and international collaborations, both academic and industrial, and makes a significant contribution to the training of students in Earth Sciences.

Institut des sciences de l’évolution (Montpellier)

Research at the Montpellier Institute of Evolution Sciences (ISEM, CNRS – CIRAD – IRD – University of Montpellier) concerns the origin and dynamics of biodiversity, as well as the methods and mechanisms of its evolution . Researchers in this unit are interested in both current and past biodiversity, study a wide range of organisms and environments and combine field, experimental and theoretical approaches. Scientific and societal questioning concerns the responses of biodiversity (organisms and / or communities) to planetary and anthropogenic changes.

Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB) – MNHN Paris

The Institute of Systematics, Evolution, Biodiversity (ISYEB, UMR 7205) is a CNRS unit of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle de Paris, also under the supervision of the Pierre et Marie Curie University and the École Pratique des Hautes Études. Its objective is to answer questions concerning the origin of biodiversity, the modalities of species diversification, the establishment of communities in relation to the spatio-temporal evolution of taxa. It is one of the European poles of systematics that contributes significantly to the taxonomy and biology of evolution.

IRISSO

IRISSO is a Joint Research Unit of the CNRS and INRA, associated with the University of Paris-Dauphine/PSL, which includes sociologists, politicians and economists. Born from the merger of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research in Sociology, Political Science and Economics (IRISES) and the Centre for Studies and Research in the Sociology of Organizations (CERSO), IRISSO integrated a new component in 2015: the Political Communication Laboratory (LCP). Researchers and administrative managers from INRA’s RiTME (Risks, Labour, Contracts, State) unit also joined IRISSO in 2017.

Laboratoire 3SR

The 3SR laboratory comes from the major mechanical and hydraulic laboratories in the Grenoble region after the Second World War, catalyzed by the development of hydraulic energy. He conducts cutting-edge research in solid mechanics, in the fields of structural engineering, civil engineering structures and materials, energy, transportation and health. It is a joint research unit (UMR 5521) between the CNRS (INSIS), the University of Grenoble Alpes and Grenoble INP. The research is based on both experimentation and modelling, both at the scale of the material and at the scale of the structure. Experimental studies are conducted to understand, analyze, and feed into the development of theoretical and numerical models taking into account physico-mechanical couplings and multi-scale analyses. The research areas addressed are essentially: – environmental and technological risks (underground and surface storage), surface gravity and seismic risks, underground collapses and the durability of sensitive energy-supplying structures, – the mechanical behaviour of complex solid systems and media (granular, porous, entangled, reinforced, biological and bio-inspired) as well as the serviceability of structures and geostructures (particularly under cyclic loading). The 3SR Laboratory has original experimental facilities, often unique in the world, in the mechanics of materials, geo-materials and structures. In terms of modelling, the laboratory has innovative and renowned tools at its disposal, dealing both with aspects at the micro level (e. g. grains) of behaviour and at the macroscopic level (large volume of grains, fibres, massive soil or cracked rocks). The 3SR laboratory employs about 130 people, half of whom are researchers or teacher-researchers or technicians, and the other half are doctoral candidates, post-doctoral fellows, visitors and trainees.

Laboratoire d’Aérologie (LA)

3 research axes structure the activity of the Aerology Laboratory:

• The dynamic, thermodynamic and microphysical processes that govern the meteorological atmosphere, from small scale (cloud convection or boundary layer) to synoptic disturbances in mid-latitudes and tropics.
• Physico-chemistry of the troposphere and lower stratosphere with natural and anthropogenic production, transport, flows at the interfaces, evolution and impact of gaseous and particulate chemical species, with more specific developments concerning ozone on the one hand, and nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and carbonaceous aerosols on the other hand.
• Coastal oceanography in its dynamic aspects related to general circulation, forcings and internal disturbances; biogeochemical with associated cycles of the main elements; climatic towards the study of the impact of global change.

Laboratoire de Biochimie et Physiologie Moléculaire des Plantes (B&PMP) – Montpellier

The Joint Research Unit for Biochemistry and Molecular Physiology of Plants (INRA, CNRS, University of Montpellier 2, SupAgro), created about thirty years ago, is working to identify the molecular mechanisms of hydromineral plant nutrition and to analyse their integration into the entire body. The focus is on: (i) membrane and long-distance transport of water and ions (nitrate, potassium, phosphate, iron, zinc, etc.), (ii) storage and metabolism of mineral elements, (iii) signalling to regulate these processes, (iv) development control in response to fluctuations in water and mineral ion availability. A major objective is to determine the integrated role of the molecular mechanisms identified in the adaptation of plants to abiotic environmental stresses (water stress, saline stress, mineral deficiencies, metal toxicity). The plant models are mainly model plants (Arabidopsis thaliana, Medicago truncatula…), with approaches concerning species of agronomic interest (rice, grapevine), and symbioses (mycorrhizae, legumes). The approaches are those of Integrative Biology, and give a large place to genomics (transcriptome, proteome, modeling of gene networks) and functional phenotyping (electrophysiology, isotopes, hydraulics, imaging) or development (root architecture).

Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Biotecnologies Microbiennes (LBBM)

The Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Biotechnologies Microbiennes (LBBM) is a mixed service and research unit (USR3579) of Université de Sorbonne and the CNRS. Its activities are known for biodiversity and the role of microorganisms by focusing on aquatic systems (marine, marine, continental). Our goal is to better understand the biotic and abiotic factors that regulate the activity and diversity of microorganisms in aquatic environments. An important part of our activity is also dedicated to the valorization of our knowledge (biotechnological issues of our collection of microorganisms, development of diagnostic tools …). This activity is based on numerous industrial partnerships and with local authorities. The LBBM brings together expertise in microbial ecology, microbiology, chemical ecology, biotechnology and exploratory pharmacology.

Laboratoire Epigénétique et Signalisation Cellulaire (Institut Albert Bonniot) – Grenoble

The research of the team led by Saadi Khochbin at the IAB (Institut Albert Bonniot, Centre de recherche Université Grenoble Alpes, Inserm U1209, CNRS UMR 5309) aims to understand how the genome communicates with its close or distant environment to control its functions. The team’s discoveries range from the identification and functional characterization of new enzymes regulating chemical changes in histones, to chemical changes in histones themselves, factors recognizing modified histones and histone variants. In this context, the team has developed an original line of research aimed at understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in male genome programming, an obscure but fundamental and preserved process. This research not only unveils the molecular basis for the establishment of the male epigenome, but also generates important new concepts applicable to epigenetics and chromatin biology in general. This research program has also led to unexpected applications in the field of cancer. Extensive research is being developed in this laboratory, revealing new oncogenic mechanisms, powerful biomarkers and new therapeutic targets. All this research activity is conducted on the basis of major international collaborations and multidisciplinary approaches, including structural biology, proteomics, genomics, biological chemistry and clinical expertise. This is evidenced by the publications coordinated by this team, testifying to the collaborative effort of several leading international laboratories.

Laboratoire Évolution Paris Seine

The Evolution Paris-Seine laboratory (UMR 7138) consists of 7 research teams and a platform, representing 32 researchers or teacher-researchers, 18 engineers or technicians, and 19 doctoral or post-doctoral positions. The laboratory is mainly interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of evolution. Through modern biological tools, the laboratory undertakes to understand how organisms interact with their environments, on both an adaptive and evolutionary scale. Because of the themes studied in the unit, the study of biodiversity, and in particular the mechanisms at its origin, is studied at all possible levels, from genes to genomes, from cells to organisms, or from populations to species. Each team favours one of these levels, but always with the aim of achieving an integrated vision of adaptive and evolving processes. Different organisms are studied, such as ctenophores, cnidarians, crustaceans, molluscs or vertebrates, in eukaryotes and, bacteria as well as archaea in prokaryotes. This diversity of organisms is associated with a diversity of ecosystems, including the Antarctic coast, mangroves and the Mediterranean coast.

Laboratoire de Génétique, Reproduction et Développement (GreD) – Clermont-Ferrand

The Genetics Laboratory of the Blaise Pascal University in Clermont-Ferrand was created in 1967 by the arrival, from Orsay, of Ph. L’Héritier, J-C Bregliano, and Annie Fleuriet. It was quickly expanded by the recruitment of researchers and teacher-researchers. Thanks to the grouping of this laboratory with other local teams, a CNRS Associated Research Unit was created in 1983, bringing together 6 laboratories and about 50 researchers. From 1991, this unit became a Joint Research Unit and, in 2008, “Laboratoire de Génétique, Reproduction et Développement” (GreD), associated with the CNRS and INSERM, with 10 teams comprising 130 people of all categories.

Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon : Terre, Planète, Environnement

The Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planète, Environnement (LGL-TPE, UMR 5276 CNRS) brings together the research teams of the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon and the Claude Bernard-Lyon 1 University in the field of Earth and Solar System Sciences. This laboratory is grouped with the Lyon Astrophysical Research Centre in the Lyon Observatory. Coming from the grouping of “geologists” from two different laboratories, and with 140 employees, the LGE-TPE deals with a wide range of fields of Earth and solar system sciences: young Earth and early events in the solar system, structure and mineralogy of the Earth’s interior, geology of planetary surfaces, formation of mountain ranges, primitive life and biosignatures, paleoenvironment.

Laboratoire de pollution atmosphérique (INRA) – Nancy

Within the INRA-Nancy Forest Research Centre, the Air Pollution Laboratory was responsible for ecotoxicological research on the effects of air pollutants on French vegetation, both within and outside metropolitan France. It should be recalled that this INRA laboratory, the only French laboratory working since 1975 at 100% of its time on the effects of air pollution on plants, has therefore been led to carry out its scientific activities and research in 3 fields:

• A fundamental area of research on the physiological impact of different air pollutants on plants. This fundamental research has been directed towards the plant bioindication of air pollution (acid rain, ozone, nitrogen compounds, heavy metals, organic compounds, etc.) to characterize and map it.
• A field of finalised research and transfer in collaboration with many other French and foreign laboratories, in order to study the causes and consequences for the environments (natural, anthropised) of atmospheric pollution present in the field.
• A field of expertise and popularization where the laboratory’s skills have been used in the context of expertise and consultancy, conferences, teaching, training, documentation, participation in fairs and exhibitions, etc…

Laboratoire Évolution Paris-Seine

The Evolution Paris-Seine laboratory (UMR 7138) consists of 7 research teams and a platform, representing 32 researchers or teacher-researchers, 18 engineers or technicians, and 19 doctoral candidates or postdoctoral positions. The laboratory is mainly interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of evolution. Through modern biological tools, the laboratory undertakes to understand how organisms interact with their environments, on both an adaptive and evolutionary scale. Because of the themes studied in the unit, the study of biodiversity, and in particular the mechanisms at its origin, is studied at all possible levels, from genes to genomes, from cells to organisms, or from populations to species. Each team favours one of these levels, but always with the aim of achieving an integrated vision of adaptive and evolving processes. Different organisms are studied, such as ctenophores, cnidarians, crustaceans, molluscs or vertebrates, in eukaryotes and, bacteria as well as archaea in prokaryotes. This diversity of organisms is associated with a diversity of ecosystems, including the Antarctic coast, mangroves and the Mediterranean coast.

Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement (LGGE)

The Laboratory of Glaciology and Geophysics of the Environment (LGGE, UMR 5183), created in 1958, brings together about 150 people to conduct research on snow and ice, glaciers, climate – atmosphere, ice and ocean – and the environment. For more than 50 years, the LGGE has built its scientific reputation on the study of climate and atmospheric composition. These studies focus on the present but also on past evolutions through the archives that constitute the snow and ice accumulated over time. However, the LGGE has other very competitive skills focused on snow and ice, such as the physical and mechanical study of ice material, air-snow chemical exchanges and the acquisition of data in the field and by satellite. The research conducted combines technological and analytical developments with a numerical modelling approach covering a variety of fields, from the atmosphere to ice mass flows and, more recently, to the ocean. The Antarctic and Arctic polar regions are privileged fields of action, but the LGGE’s experience also extends to mountain areas (study of alpine, Andean and Himalayan glaciers, pollution of alpine valleys) and oceans (role of the ocean in climate balances, medium-term forecast of ocean circulation). These studies contribute to the understanding of important scientific issues that are often societal issues such as the greenhouse effect, climate and environmental variability, cryospheric mass balance and sea level, global and regional pollution, and glacial hazards.