Regional, National, and International Mechanisms
Our goal is to attract top-tier scientists and facilitate the integration of high-potential young scientists
To strengthen the excellence of its international scientific standing and the appeal of the Montpellier campus, the “Montpellier University of Excellence” I-SITE is implementing an outreach program. This program enables the university to host international researchers with support from regional, national, and international initiatives (ATIP-AVENIR, MOPGA, UNESCO) or to welcome visiting scientists to the MAK’IT Institute for Advanced Studies.
This program receives support from the Occitanie Region and the French government for MoPGA awardees.
Approach
Applications are submitted by the institutions involved in hosting the candidate on campus, and each proposal is evaluated based on the excellence of the candidate’s academic background, their ability to quickly assume scientific responsibilities, and the strategic or foundational significance of the project for the University of Montpellier and its I-SITE MUSE partners. Each chair, with a maximum duration of 3 years, will be dedicated to hosting the candidate, providing compensation, and/or creating an environment that supports the implementation of their research project.
MUSE Chairs
Johanna Calderon
Johanna Calderon, a researcher in neuropsychology and psychiatry at Harvard University until 2020, took over as head of a MUSE Chair at the University of Montpellier in January 2021, focusing on the neurodevelopmental aspects of congenital heart diseases within the PhyMedExp research unit (UM, Inserm, CNRS, Montpellier University Hospital).
Julie Josse
A graduate of École Polytechnique, Inria researcher Julie Josse, a specialist in causal inference, is expected to join the Desbrest Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health (IDESP) shortly. IDESP is one of the new research units at theUM , established under the 2021–2026 contract.
Alpha Keita
Hired by TRANSVIHMI and CERFIG in 2018 and based at theUM since 2020, he holds a medical degree from the University of Conakry (Guinea) and a Ph.D. in infectious diseases (AMU). Alpha Kabinet Keita leads a research program on the Ebola virus and is one of 54 “ambassadors” for the Next Einstein Forum, a platform that connects science, society, and politics in Africa and around the world—for human development.
Fabienne Remize
Fabienne Remize, a biologist specializing in wine microorganisms who was on staff at the University of Réunion until December 2020, will join the University of Montpellier in January 2021 to head a major research unit, the UMR Sciences for Oenology (SPO: University of Montpellier, INRAE, Institut Agro – Montpellier SupAgro) as part of the I-SITE MUSE talent attraction program.
RandalL J. Wisser
Coming from the University of Delaware (USA),Randall J. Wisser, an internationally renowned quantitative geneticist, took up his position in January 2021 as INRAE Research Director at the Laboratory of Plant Ecophysiology under Environmental Stress in Montpellier to forge new partnerships and conduct research at the intersection of quantitative genetics and cereal ecophysiology. This appointment follows an EXPLORE mobility assignment, part of MUSE’s international mobility program.
Attracting ATIP-AVENIR Researchers
Maud Borensztein
After completing a postdoc at the University of Cambridge (UK) and spending two years as a research fellow at the Institut Curie in Paris, Maud Borensztein joined the IGMM (UM, CNRS) in December 2020. With support from MUSE and funding from FRM and ATIP-AVENIR, she is assembling her team and funding research aimed at better understanding the epigenetic mechanism underlying X-chromosome reactivation in female germ cells (oocytes).
Jakub GRUSZCZYK
Jakub GRUSZCZYK, an ATIP-AVENIR awardee, joined the UMR CBS (UM, CNRS, Inserm) in December 2020 to hold a junior professorship focusing on issues related to environmental health. His research project focuses on the structural characterization and functioning of the signaling pathway involved in the detoxification of chemical pollutants in humans. More information coming soon.
Karim MAJZOUB
Karim MAJZOUB, currently a researcher in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie program (Inserm), is a 2020 ATIP-AVENIR awardee. He will join the IGMM (UM, CNRS) in July 2021 to establish and lead a team that will focus its efforts on original research targeting the interactions between viral genomes (DNA for HBV, RNA for HDV) and the cellular proteins necessary for the replication and persistence of these viruses in hepatocytes.
Attracting MOPGA Researchers in Partnership with the French Government and the Occitanie Region
Carol Lee
Carol Lee, who joined us from the University of Wisconsin (USA) in the summer of 2019, is conducting her research project, “Rapid Evolutionary Responses to Global Transformations in Salinity and Temperature,” at the MARBEC Joint Research Unit (UMR MARBEC; CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, UM) in collaboration with the CEFE (CNRS, EPHE, INRA, IRD, SupAgro, UM, UM3) as part of the MOPGA program.
Delphine Renard
After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California (USA), Delphine Renard has been working since January 2018 at the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE, CNRS/UM), she has been shedding new light on the role of agrobiodiversity in reducing the impact of agricultural production on climate instability and shocks through the ASSET AgrobiodiverSity for a Food-Secure PlanET project, conducted as part of the Make Our Planet Great Again program. She is now a tenured researcher at the CNRS.
Vincent Vadez
Upon his return from IRCISAT in India, Vincent Vadez is leading the ICARUS research project at the UMR DIADE (IRD / UM) to address the dual challenges of drought and climate change on plants—particularly cereal crops—and to understand how these plants can be encouraged to better regulate water loss. This project is part of the “Make Our Planet Great Again” program.
UNESCO Chair in partnership with the Occitanie Region
Edgar Morin
Edgar Morin, a French philosopher and anthropological sociologist—and a leading contemporary thinker on complexity—has published no fewer than 40 books throughout his career, which have been translated around the world. An emeritus research director at the CNRS and an honorary doctorate recipient from several international universities, Edgar Morin has held the UNESCO Chair on Complexity at the University of Montpellier since December 2018, where he reflects on the societal challenges addressed by I-SITE MUSE.
