Ecofect News and Upcoming Events

The Ecofect LabEx is an institutionnal partner of the 3rd edition of the 'Immunotherapies & Innovations for Infectious Diseases' congress that will be held in Lyon (France), on December 4-5, 2019.

The regional Microbiome workshop's main objectives are • To gather regional actors working on the microbiology of interactions • To review advances of the field • To define the strategic positioning of regional research • To reinforce and nurture collaborations

The objective of the EvoLyon Conference is to gather researchers working on evolution to trigger discussions and collaborations - particularly between specialists of the different research domains around evolution.

BioSyL is organising a novel edition of the SeMoVi Conference so that scientists coming from different horizons can meet, and bring out new synergies between the groups involved in Systemic Biology in Rhône-Alpes.

Today, we had the great chance to welcome two internationally recognized scientists: Vanessa Ezenwa from the University of Georgia (US) and Evan Snitkin from the University of Michigan (US). The interdisciplinary presentations of the Ecofect structuring projects, the flash presentations and the poster session have triggered discussions and exchanges on the eco-evolutionary aspects of infectious diseases.

More than 110 attendees participated to these two days, offering an interdisciplinary dialogue between researchers and reinforcing the links between the LabEx scientific communities for an integrative understanding of infectious diseases. We greatly thank all the international & national speakers and participants who proposed excellent talks and fruitful discussions.

The team of Sylvain Baize (CIRI, Institut Pasteur, LabEx Ecofect) compared the efficacy of these vaccines against LASV in cynomolgus monkeys. The vaccines were well tolerated and protected the animals from LASV infection and disease after a single immunization but with varying efficacy. The most efficacious vaccine candidate, a measles vector simultaneously expressing LASV glycoprotein and nucleoprotein, has been selected for further clinical evaluation.

The IdBIORIV project, led by Professor Vandenesch of CIRI (Inserm U1111, ENS Lyon, CNRS UMR5308, UCBL) and Professor Jérôme Lemoine of ISA (CNRS UMR 5280, UCBL) and coordinated by the Hospices Civils de Lyon, will develop new ultrafast diagnostic tools for bacterial infections. The goal is to detect in less than an hour the resistance and virulence of bacteria, which will bring a genuine innovative step in the treatment process. The project IdBIORIV has been awarded 5.7 million euros.

Jimena Perez-Vargas, postdoctoral fellow on the Ecofect LabEx, in the team of François-Loïc Cosset (CIRI) demonstrates that the Hepatitis D virus, initially discovered in the liver of patients infected by the Heptatitis B virus, can propagate by 'using' viruses from various viral families.

Emiliano Ricci, Philippe Mangeot and Théophile Ohlmann from the International Center for Research on Infectious Diseases (Lyon), holders of an Ecofect 'Proof of Concept' grant, developed innovative capsules to bring CRISPR / Cas9 to the target DNA. Described in Nature Communications, Nanoblades open up avenues of research for genome editing in human stem cells.

Come and participate to the two activities organised by Ecofect and 'Les LabEx en Fête': a Giant Scientific Goose Game and the 'Ma Thèse pour les Nuls' contest.

Every two years, the Pop'Sciences Festival, organised by the University of Lyon and its associated institutions, is installed at the heart of the city to offer to a large audience various animations, scientific games, conferences, and exhibitions around the world of research.