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The InfectioTron project has been awarded following the EQUIPEX+ national call for proposals

On The January 20, 2021

InfectioTron is proposing a 'One Health' integrated and multidisciplinary approach for the study of emerging infectious diseases.
 


The InfectioTron project, coordinated by the Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University and gathering 7 other partners, has received funding from the national call for tenders on 'Research Structuring Equipments' (E.S.R. : EQUIPEX+). Its objective is to develop the Lyon ecosystem to enforce the "One Health" concept in the study of emerging infectious diseases.


The interactions between multiple partners (natural hosts, reservoirs, vectors, pathogens, microbiota, symbionts ...), modulated by environmental factors and affected by globalization are part of the "One Health" concept. These interactions appear to be essential elements for understanding current health issues: human health also depends on the health of animals, plants and even ecosystems, through many aspects such as interspecific transfers, food quantity and security, exposure to toxic substances, etc...

The InfectioTron project is proposing a unique and coordinated network of complementary state-of-the-art equipments and platforms allowing multi-scale and multimodal analyses of infectious events in living hosts in high security laboratories. It will support the development of new integrative "One Health" projects linking the field to the laboratory. InfectioTron will considerably strengthen the Rhône-Alpes's region scientific community around the theme of infectious diseases and will provide, de facto, a scientific environment unique in France. The recent launch of the Veterinary Public Health Hub underlines further the desire for Lyon to become an international reference center for "One Health" approaches.
 

The InfectioTron project coordinated by Fabrice Vavre (LBBE), François-Loïc Cosset (CIRI) and Fabienne Archer (IVPC), relies on three pillars:
  • a rich, recognized and interdisciplinary community structured within the framework of the Ecofect LabEx. The project is grounded on a community bringing together clinicians, veterinarians, infectious disease specialists, immunologists, ecologists and evolutionists covering human, animal and plant health. This community will be extended to plant health and will be greatly strengthened by providing tools to bring together partners around common projects.
  • an ecosystem of complementary and coordinated structures and platforms. Unique in France, it will allow the study of infectious systems from their natural environment to the analysis of molecular and cellular mechanisms of infections, using high-level confined platforms.
  • a tool for the development of the Lyon ecosystem. The already existing contained facilities, the link with hospitals and rapid access to human patients, connections with epidemiological surveillance platforms, partnerships with the industrial community will be strengthened
This ambitious project will gather 10 research structures, 5 academic institutions (Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, VetAgro Sup, INSA, EPHE) and 3 national research organisations (CNRS, INSERM, INRAE).

The research structures partners in InfectioTron are: