Call for research projects ExposUM 2023 : The emerging exposome

ExposUM is an initiative of the University of Montpellier and its partners1 to set up an out-of-bounds, open-ended reference institute for the study, training and science-society interaction of the environmental determinants of human health. Winner of the ExcellenceS call for projects (PIA4) and supported by the Occitanie Region, ExposUM is funded to the tune of 46.4 M€ over the period 2022-2030.

Background & objective

The exposome is the sum total of lifelong exposure to environmental and social factors, the effects of which, combined with the intrinsic characteristics of individuals, underpin health and the onset, evolution and severity of infectious or non-communicable human diseases. In this sense, it is the environmental counterpart of the genome, with which it interacts throughout an individual's life.

The aim of the ExposUM Institute's Research Axis is to accelerate the acquisition of primary knowledge in an interdisciplinary, coordinated and non-segmented way on the four pillar fields of study of the exposome:

  1. Strengthen the monitoring of environmental exposures,
  2. Refine our understanding of the ecology of hosts, pathogens, reservoirs and vectors using a "One Health" approach,
  3. Improve fundamental knowledge of biological mechanisms,
  4. Study the consequences for human health.

In a transversal way, the "data science" dimension (in the broadest sense) can be present in all pillars, both from a methodological point of view (new methods) and for the exploitation and valorization of results.

To this end, the Institut ExposUM will organize an annual call for research projects (AAP), funded by the ANR and the Occitanie Region, until 2030. Each AAP will focus on a different theme, deliberately broad or multiple, relating to contexts, processes, patterns or methods, and including research under the four aforementioned pillars. However, projects are not expected to fit into each of the 4 pillars.

In line with the ambitions set out in the ExcellenceS call for projects, the ExposUM Institute will strongly encourage trans-disciplinary, South-oriented research projects, the initiation of new collaborations, and the development of local and regional resources (in particular technological platforms), without these aspects constituting eligibility criteria (cf. below). Finally, as far as possible, projects should be part of the open science approach, making the data generated easy to find, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR).

AAP 2023

The title of the ExposUM Institute's 2023 AAP, proposed by its Orientation & Evaluation Council Research (COER) and validated by its Scientific & Strategic Orientation Council (COSS), is theemerging exposome.

A part of the exposome (exposure(s) and any associated biological responses) is considered emerging if it exhibits, or is likely to exhibit in the future, at least one of these properties:

  • an unprecedented nature (exposure highlighted in recent years, e.g. microplastics),
  • a recently modified spatial pattern (new contexts/areas of presence, sources, e.g. arboviroses),
  • a recently modified temporal pattern (increased duration/frequency of exposure, increased propagation speed, e.g. blue light).

How to submit

The project must be drafted preferably in English, using the matrix available online and following the instructions on the matrix (note: no appendices accepted), then submitted to exposum.sciencesconf.org (Requires a Sciences Conf. account) (and sent securely by email, specifying [AAPR] in the subject line and copying the unit director).) (and securely sent by email, specifying [AAPR] in the subject line and copying the unit director) by the main sponsor (1 submission per project), in the form of a PDF file entitled NomUMR_NomPorteur.pdf before April 07, 2023 (2:00 pm, Paris time).

Moderation in the number of projects per unit

In the event of a large number of projects being submitted, unit directors are asked to moderate the number of dossiers submitted according to the following levels:

Number of tenured professors and researchers in the unitMaximum number of projects that can be submitted
< 301
< 602
< 1003
≥ 1004

Expenses and total amount

Funding must be expressly justified by the project, and must be limited to between €100 and €300 k for a maximum duration of 3 years. Eligible expenses include salaries (young researcher, study or research engineer, but not doctoral contracts, which will be financed under ExposUM by another mechanism), operating costs (reminder: laboratory "management costs" are not eligible) or equipment (with a limit of 10 k€ for equipment). As ANR funds are involved, they can only finance personnel recruited on a project basis (post-docs, ITAs) within the consortium's research units.

Partners from outside the consortium will only be able to receive funding via invoicing for services (funds remaining managed by the applicant's research unit).

Calendar

  • Official opening: December 9, 2022
  • Deposit platform opens: February1
  • Project submission deadline: April 7, 2023, 2 p.m.
  • Distribution of results: first half of July 2023
  • Project start date: September 2023

Eligibility

Only dossiers meeting the following three criteria will be processed:

  • the project's main sponsor must be a member affiliated with a research structure belonging to the consortium2 of the experimental public establishment. Unités d'Appui et de Research (UAR) are not eligible to apply for this AAP, but may participate as partners in a project;
  • the project must aim to produce knowledge relating to the exposome - i .e., any determinant of human health of environmental origin - and fit within the thematic scope of the current call for projects. This must be clear from the project summary;
  • compliance with PIA4 project funding rules as defined by the ANR (see https://anr.fr/fr/rf/) and those imposed by the present call (see above).

Selection procedures

Projects are evaluated in a single stage on the basis of the application file alone (no round for replying to reports or interviews). The evaluation includes a scientific part, accounting for two-thirds, and a peri-scientific part, relating to the strategy of the Institute and the site.

The scientific evaluation will be carried out independently by two anonymous external referees, potentially chosen from among the suggestions requested in the application, who will judge the following elements of the project submitted:

  • scientific interest and originality,
  • methodological skills,
  • its impact potential (both fundamental and applied),
  • feasibility (in terms of partners, timetable and budget).

The peri-scientific evaluation will be carried out jointly by two COER members and will aim to highlight the following qualities:

  • trandisciplinarity, initiating new partnerships,
  • the One Health dimension,
  • partnership in the South,
  • sanitary application potential,
  • transposing results into training and science-society interaction,
  • capitalize on local and regional resources, and other projects, whether registered or underway, within the ExposUM perimeter.

Commitments of the Carrier

  • respect, in the design and implementation of the project submitted to this Call for Proposals, the values and principles of scientific integrity intended to guarantee the honest and scientifically rigorous nature of all research work, as referred to in Article L.211-2 of the French Research Code and set out in the Charte nationale de déontologie des métiers de la recherche and the Charte relative à l'intégrité scientifique of the University of Montpellier,
  • comply, where applicable, with the Nagoya Protocol,
  • include the logos of the University of Montpellier, France 2030 and the Institut ExposUM in all documents relating to the project,
  • send theInstitute a mid-term report and another two months at the latest after the end of the project (financial statement and summary report), which may be used in the University's communication media, according to a model sent with the notification letter,
  • apply the UM's publication signature charter to all scientific publications; comply with the provisions of the French Open Science and Digital Republic Act (open access publication). The holders of UM sub-tutored laboratories will deposit the full text of publications in the HAL-UM open archive,
  • obtain the necessary research authorizations/approvals in regulated sectors (genetically modified organisms, use of animals for scientific purposes, health data, use of genetic resources and resulting benefit-sharing, bioethics, etc.).

list of research structures that can contribute to the ExposUM Institute

ABSYS, AGAP, AIDA, ALYENA, AMAP, ANALYSES, ART-Dev, ASTRE, BC2M, BCM, BioWooEB, BPMP, CBGP, CBS, CDE, CEE-M, CEFE, CEMIPAI, CEPEL, CERCOP, ChimEco, CRBM, CREAM, DD, DEFE, DGIMI, DIADE, DIASCOPE, DMEM, ECO&SOLS, ECOTRON, EDSM, ESPACE-DEV, EuroMov DHM, Forêts et Sociétés, G-EAU, GECO, Génopolys, GM, HortSys, HSM, IATE, IBMM, ICGM, ICSM, IDEDH, IDESP, IEM, IES, IGF, IGH, IGMM, IHD, IHPE, IMAG, IMAGINE, INM, INNOVATION, INTERTRYP, IRCM, IRIM, IRMB, ISDM, ISEM, ITAP, L2C, LBE, LBN, LDP, LEPSE, LIRDEF, LIRMM, LISAH, LMGC, LPHI, LSTM, LUPM, MARBEC, MISTEA, MIVEGEC, MMDN, MOISA, MRE, MRM, MSH Sud, OREME, PCCEI, Pech Rouge, PHIM, PhyMedExp, QualiSud, Recyclage et Risque, SantESiH, SELMET, SENS, SPO, Sys2Diag, TETIS, TransVIHMI, Vassal, VBIC.

Institut ExposUM governance

  • Management Committee (CoDir) : Éric Delaporte (dir.), Aurélie Binot, Charlotte Boullé, Mircea Sofonea.
  • Project manager: Elodie Suttling.
  • Conseil Scientifique et d'Orientation Stratégie (COSS) : Jacques Mercier (pres.), Amaria Baghdadli, Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Pascal Demoly, Delphine Destoumieux-Garzon, Didier Fontenille, Sylvain Gandon, Julie Pannequin, Denis Pesche, Éric Servat, Coumba Toure Kane, Muriel Vayssier-Taussat, Laurent Visier.
  • Conseil d'Orientation et d'Évaluation de la Research (COER): Charlotte Boullé, Anca Mirela Chiriac, Constance Delaby, Jacques Gardon, Alexandre Hobeika, Clément Jonquet, Antonio Maraver, Mircea Sofonea, Annelise Tran.

Results

Call framework

The ExposUM Institute's first call for research projects (AAP-R) was open for submissions from December 9, 2022 to April 7, 2023. The theme of this call for projects, proposed by the ExposUM Institute's Conseil d'Orientation & d'Évaluation de la Research (COER) and validated by its Conseil d'Orientation Scientifique & Stratégique (COSS), was the emerging exposome.

Under this call for proposals, the ExposUM Institute received a total of 38 research projects, with funding limited to 7 projects.

Selected projects

Project acronym
Porteur.se
In alphabetical order
UMRProject title
ZAMBABENAVIDES JulioMIVEGECRapid landscape changes and impact on vectors and Zoonoticpathogens in wildlife, humans and domestic Animals in theMegadiverse Pantanal and Cerrado biomes of BrAzil
ROBOPUSACLAUDE JulienISE-MROdent BOrne diseases and Pesticide Use in Southeast Asia
RoCoCityDOBIGNY GauthierCBGPRodent Control in the City: health ecology and (re)exposure to rodent-borne infectious agents and vectors
PMTfocusGOMEZ ElenaHSMFocus on Persistent, Mobile and Toxic chemicals as Substances of Very High Concern: an emerging exposome from resource and drinking waters to human
EXPOSAHR
GRUSZCZYK JakubCBSTowards a better understanding of the emerging chemical exposome: illuminating the interplay between different classes of xenobiotics and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-dependent signalling pathway
WATERISK
JUMAS-BILAK EstelleHSMEnrichment of emerging antibiotic resistance of public health
concern in the hydric environment: toward a genomic,
phenotypic and evolutionary-based proxy of exposition risk in
a territory
EXPOMITEROY LiseCEFEHuman exposure to bird-associated hematophagous mites: ultimate and proximal causes of an emerging contrast between urban and farm environments
  1. Cirad, CNRS, Ifremer, INRAe, Inria, Inserm, IRD, ENSCM, Institut Agro, CHU Montpellier, ICM, Région Occitanie.
  2. See list of eligible UMRs and platforms on last page