Call for research projects ExposUM 2025: Anticipating exposomic health risks

[Call for projects] - Published on October 16, 2024 in Major projects, Emblematic projects

ExposUM is an initiative of the University of Montpellier and its partners¹ aimed at establishing an out-of-building, decompartmentalized reference institute for the study, training and science-society interfaces of the environmental determinants of human health. ExposUM is a winner of the ExcellenceS call for projects (PIA4) and is supported by the Occitanie Region for the period 2022-2030.

Background & objective

The exposome is the sum total of lifelong exposure to environmental and social factors whose effects affect human health through the onset, promotion, modulation or prevention of diseases, whether transmissible or not. 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 support and accelerate the acquisition of primary knowledge in an interdisciplinary, coordinated and non-segmented manner 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 ( One Health approach),
3. Improve fundamental understanding of the biological mechanisms that may be modulated by the exposome,
4. Study the consequences for human health.

Data science forms a bridge linking these pillars, in terms of both methodology and analysis, and the valorization of results. A second bridge, formed by the study and development of new exposure control strategies, completes this architecture articulated with the Interfaces and Training axes.

It is within this framework that the Institut ExposUM organizes an annual call for research projects (AAP-R), co-financed by the ANR and the Occitanie Region. Each AAP-R focuses on a different, deliberately broad theme, covering contexts, processes, patterns or methods, and including research in the pillars and bridges mentioned above.

In line with the ambitions of the ExcellenceScall for proposals, the Institut ExposUM strongly encourages trans-disciplinary, South-oriented research projects, the initiation of new collaborations, and the development of local and regional resources (particularly technological platforms). As far as possible, projects should be part of the open science approach, making the data produced easy to find, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR), see below.

Themes

The topic chosen by the Institut ExposUM for the AAP-R 2025 is: Anticipation of exposomic health risks.

Although human life expectancy at birth doubled during the 20th century, health continues to be regularly threatened by new orexacerbated physico-chemical, biological and social exposures. Health crises(sensu lato) have multiplied over the last two decades, mainly as a result of demographic growth and the impact of human activity on the environment. Varying in intensity, duration and spatial extent, as well as in the vulnerability of the populations affected, exceptional health situations are likely to become more frequent in the decade to come. With a view to preparing ourselves scientifically, technically and organizationally for these future collective challenges, the Comité de Veille et d'Anticipation des Risques Sanitaires(COVARS) issued an opinion on April 3, 2024, onassessing the risks of major exceptional health situations for human health in France in the years 2025-2030.². This opinion is based in particular on an exposomic approach to human health, and it was for this reason that the Institut ExposUM was approached during the work preceding its drafting. As a result of this interaction, the ExposUM Institute wishes to include its call for research projects 2025 in the COVARS approach, and to specifically support research aligned with this advice, i.e. both on the nature of the exposures deemed a priority, and on the challenge of anticipating the risks they pose to human health by 2035.

Financing arrangements

For its 2025 edition, the ExposUM Institute has divided its AAP-R into two categories:

Standard research projects

This category corresponds to the reference project format that qualifies for staff funding.³ and operating funds needed to produce original results that can be valorized or published.

Amount and duration ceilings: €250,000 over 2 years.

This year, non-permanent researchers can submit a project in this category, provided they are already affiliated to the research structure for which the project is being submitted. The funds allocated can then be used to finance the project leader's salary.⁴if necessary, until the end of the project.

Exploratory research projects

The aim of these projects is to initiate an original, exploratory research dynamic, to test hypotheses and approaches that are not favored by ordinary calls for tenders, and to produce preliminary results with a view to applying for ambitious calls for tenders at a later stage.

Amount and duration ceilings: €50,000 over 2 years.

Eligible expenses and total PAA amount

Eligible expenses include the salaries of non-statutory staff (researchers, engineers, technicians, assistants, but excluding doctoral contracts), operating costs and small-scale equipment. Personnel financed by the project may only be recruited within the consortium's research units.⁵. For eligible structures in which the UM is co-supervisor, the employer of staff recruited through this tool will necessarily be the UM. For other structures, it is up to the sponsor to designate one of the co-supervisors of his or her structure as the employer (and, more generally, as the manager of the ExposUM funding for the entire project), after obtaining agreement in principle.

The total budget for the Institut ExposUM for this call is set at €2 million, with the aim of funding 7 standard projects and 7 exploratory projects⁶.

Submission process

This year, project submissions to the Institut ExposUM's AAP-R will be made in two selective stages: a short letter of intent, followed by the final project (similar to the ANR's generic calls for projects). In addition, the maximum number of applications per research structure will be abolished, on an experimental basis for this edition. As a result, research unit managers will no longer be required to organize the internal selection of project proposals. They will, however, continue to be asked to authorize the submission on behalf of the unit (signature on the letter of intent), which will be valid as a commitment to carry out the project in the event of funding.

A person may submit only one letter of intent to this call. Submission of a letter of intent by a laureate of a previous ExposUM Institute call for research projects is not encouraged. Finally, members of the three ExposUM Institute councils (CoDir, COER, COSS) are not allowed to submit projects as project leaders.

As the ExposUM Institute's internal evaluation capacities are limited, a high degree of selectivity will be applied at this stage: a maximum of 14 letters of intent will be accepted per project category.

Letters of intent must be drawn up using the template provided, in French or English. Any deviation from the instructions will render the project ineligible, without the possibility of rectification. Submissions must be made exclusively by sending the letter in PDF format (to be entitled NomStructureRecherche_NomPorteur.pdf) by email, before December 2, 2024 (14:00 UTC+1), specifying [AAPR_NomPorteur] in the subject line of the email and copying the management of the supporting research structure).

Successful applicants will be informed in early January of the next steps in the procedure. As a rough guide, the complete project will take a month and a half to write, in English, with a view to evaluation by international experts. The procedure will be similar to that of theAAPR 2024, in terms of the matrix and the provisional budget table.

Calendar

Eligibility of letters of intent

To be eligible, letters of intent - and the projects they represent - must meet the following criteria:

1. The letter of intent must be submitted by the date and time specified above. It must be drafted strictly in accordance with the instructions given in the matrix (fields must be filled in and not exceeded - the entire document must not exceed 2 pages).
2. The project's main sponsor must be a staff member affiliated with a research structure belonging to the consortium.⁷. Members of Unités d'Appui et de Research (UAR) may not apply as project leaders, but may participate as project partners.
3. The project must have the overriding ambition of producing knowledge relating to a human health determinant of environmental (including social) origin, and must fall within the thematic scope of the AAP (see introductory paragraphs and related COVARS opinion ). This must be evident from the first four fields of the project's scientific description.
4. 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).

The eligibility of the letters of intent will be checked collectively by the three boards of the Institut ExposUM, its project team and the UM's Direction des Programmes Structurants.

Pre-selection of letters of intent

Letters of intent will be assessed on the basis of the nature of the exposure (or, better still, exposures) in question, the originality of the research question, the spatio-temporal scope of the study, methodological relevance, and the potential impact of the project's results in terms of anticipating health risks.

The letters of intent will be evaluated and ranked collegially by all members of the three ExposUM Institute boards. Pre-selection will then focus on the 14 standard projects and the 14 exploratory projects with the highest ranking.Evaluation & selection of full projects

All projects will be evaluated on the basis of the complete project submitted.⁸.

The scientific quality of research projects will be assessed by the Conseil d'Orientation et d'Évaluation de la Research (COER), which will endeavor to invite two anonymous external referees for each project, according to the following criteria:

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

The 14 projects in each category will thus be ranked on the basis of the aggregate score of the scientific evaluations alone. The 7 winning projects in each category will then be selected by the Conseil d'Orientation Scientifique et Stratégique (COSS), which will also assess, in the strategic interest of the Institute, the site and the partners, and only for equivalent scientific quality, the peri-scientific assets of the projects, i.e. :

• transdisciplinarity, and the initiation of new partnerships,
• the exposomic approach⁹,
• One Health and global health¹⁰Southern orientation and consideration for vulnerable populations¹¹,
• the project's potential to anticipate health risks,
• interaction with training and interfaces (science - society)¹²,
• capitalizing on local resources¹³regional resources¹⁴and other projects already funded by ExposUM¹⁵,
• respect for the open science approach adopted by the University of Montpellier.

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 to the Institute (rf.re1743151660illep1743151660tnomu1743151660@paa-1743151660musop1743151660xe1743151660), a mid-term report and a final report no later than two months after the end of the project (financial statement and summary report), which may be used in the University's communications media, according to a template sent with the notification letter;
• apply the UM's publication signature charter to all scientific publications; respect the provisions of open science and the Law for a Digital Republic ( 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 eligible for this call for proposals

ABSYS, AGAP, AIDA, AMAP, ANALYSES, ART-Dev, ASTRE, BC2M, BCM, BioWooEB, BRM, CBGP, CBS, CDE, CEE-M, CEFE, CEMIPAI, CEPEL, CERCOP, ChimEco, CRBM, CREAM, DEFE, DGIMI, DIADE, DiaScope, DMEM, ECO&SOLS, ECOTRON, EDPFM, EDSM, ESPACE-DEV, EuroMov, DHM, FHU Evocan 2, FHU Neurexpo, FHU Regenhab 2, FHU TIE, 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, IPSiM, IRCM, IRIM, IRMB, ISDM, ISEM, ITAP, L2C, LBE, LBN, LDP, LEPSE, LICeM, LIRDEF, LIRMM, LISAH, LMGC, LPHI, LSTM, LUPM, Maraîchage, 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 (interfaces), Charlotte Boullé (training), Mircea Sofonea (research).
• Administration: Camille Couralet, Agathe Lamy, Noémie Moret, Élodie Suttling.
• Scientific and Strategic Orientation Council(COSS) : Jacques Mercier (pres.), Amaria Baghdadli, Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Pascal Demoly, Delphine Destoumieux-Garzon, Hélène Fenet, Didier Fontenille, Sylvain Gandon, Julie Pannequin, Denis Pesche, Coumba Toure Kane, Muriel Vayssier-Tarissat, Laurent Visier.
• Conseil d'Orientation et d'Évaluation de la Research (COER): Anne-Muriel Arigon, Charlotte Boullé, Constance Delaby, Gauthier Dobigny, François Favier, Elena Gomez, Christelle Gramaglia, Antoine Gross, Jakub Gruszczyk, Alexandre Hobeika, Luciana Kase-Tanno, Nadine Laguette, Antonio Maraver, Pascal Neveu, Jérôme Poli, Anatja Samouelian, Paula Senff, Mircea Sofonea (pres.), Annelise Tran.

1. Cirad, CNRS, Ifremer, INRAe, Inria, Inserm, IRD, ENSCM, Institut Agro, CHU Montpellier, ICM, Région Occitanie. ︎
2. Its consultation, strongly recommended upstream of any project submission, is available at this link. ︎
3. Excluding doctoral contracts, which are funded by the dedicated Nexus scheme (coming soon). ︎
4. Irrespective of the duration of ExposUM funding and the applicant's contract history, the applicant will be recruited by the University of Montpellier, under a project contract, at the indice nouveau majoré (INM) 596, corresponding approximately to a net monthly salary of €2300. Prior approval from the Human Resources Department will be required. ︎
5. 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). ︎
6. The Institut ExposUM reserves the right to adapt this distribution according to the relative quality of projects between categories. ︎
7. See list of ExposUM structures at the bottom of the page. The candidate must already be an official member of the structure in question on December 2, 2024, and his/her contract (permanent or temporary, potentially as a result of this funding) with this structure must run until the planned end of the project (max. until September 2027). Members affiliated to research structures within the ExposUM perimeter employed by a university other than the University of Montpellier are not eligible to apply. ︎
8. The procedure for this AAP does not include a response to the rapporteurs or an interview. ︎
9. Cf. e.g. article from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ︎
10. A simple mention of the " One Healthapproach" will be deemed insufficient: the simultaneous study of human, animal and environmental health must be explicitly argued and central to the project. ︎
11. Cf. definitions from the Comité Consultatif National d'Éthique and the Dictionnaire de l'Académie de médecine. ︎
12. The integration of students into the project or ordinary scientific dissemination are not considered as sufficient inter-axis articulation. Please refer to the actions specific to the Institute's other two axes. ︎
13. From the Montpellier site. ︎
14. Occitanie region. ︎
15. This point is valued only if the auxiliary project in question does not involve the same members and structures. ︎

Key words : ExposUM, Research