Official Launch of the ExposUM Institute

A winner of the ExcellenceS – France 2030 call for proposals and strongly supported by the Occitanie Region, the ExposUM Institute is an initiative aimed at establishing a leading, cross-disciplinary, off-campus institute for the study, training, and science-society interaction regarding the environmental determinants of human health.  ExposUM will receive €46.4 million in funding over the 2022–2030 period.

Following the official opening by Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, and Nadia Pellefigue, Regional Minister for Higher Education, Research, Europe, and International Relations for the Occitanie Region, the ExposUM Institute, its role within the academic and scientific ecosystem, and the funding opportunities it offers will be presented throughout this day of discussions.

What's on the agenda for today

Moderated by Magali Roubieu, director of the Strategic Programs Division at theUM :

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.: Welcome coffee

9:00–9:30 a.m.: opening remarks

• Philippe Augé – President of the University of Montpellier
• Nadia Pellefigue – Vice President for Higher Education, Research, Europe, and International Relations for the Occitanie Region
• Sophie Béjean – Rector of the Occitanie Academic Region, Rector of the Montpellier School District, Chancellor of the Universities

9:30 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.: Presentation of the ExposUM Institute
Organization, scope of research, and general program:

• Éric Delaporte – Director of the ExposUM Institute

Specific initiatives, funding, and opportunities for the research community, and answers to questions:

• Mircea Sofonea – Program Leader Research
• Charlotte Boullé – Head of the Training Division
• Aurélie Binot – Head of the Interfaces Research Area
• Philippe Combette – Vice President for Partnerships and Innovation (UM)

11:20 a.m.–11:45 a.m.: Scientific presentations
European/international overview of exposome projects and theuniquefeatures of ExposUM
Isabella Annesi-Maesano – Director and Professor of Environmental Epidemiology (IDESP UM , and INSERM)

11:45 a.m.–12:10 p.m.
: Exploring the exposome to understand the onset of rheumatoid arthritis
Claire Daien – Associate Professor and Hospital Physician, Rheumatology Department (Montpellier University Hospital / UMR PhyMedExp UM-CNRS-Inserm)

12:10 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.: Lunch

1:45 p.m. – 2:35 p.m.: Keynote Lecture
, “Exposome Analytics: Questions, Achievements, andPerspectives”
, Marc Chadeau-Hyam – Professor of Computational Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Imperial College London – UK)

2:35 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: Scientific presentations
: Presentation of the Marianne Family Cohort: An exposome approach to the onset of autism spectrum and neurodevelopmental disorders
: Amaria Baghdadli – Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (MPEA / Montpellier University Hospital) and Director of the Languedoc-Roussillon Autism Resource Center and the Center of Excellence on Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

3:00 p.m. – 3:25 p.m.:
Biocampus Network – MAMMA (Montpellier Alliance for Metabolomics and Metabolism Analysis): presentation of the platform and opportunities at the ExposUM Institute
Frédérique Courant – Research Professor at UMR Hydrosciences (UM) & Maria Elena Gomez Hernandez – Research Professor at UMR HydroSciences (UM)

3:25 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.
Illustration of an ExposUM theme as part of the AAP Research
Didier Fontenille – DR IRD, MIVEGEC, member of COVARS, member of COSS, and director of RIVOC

3:50 p.m. – 4:20 p.m.: Q&A session: questions and discussion
Moderator: Jacques Mercier – Vice President, Research (UM)

4:20 p.m.: Closing