Oniris Nantes - INRAE

Created in 1999 at the Nantes Veterinary School, UMR 703 INRAE/Oniris combines fundamental and translational research, technological innovation and high-level training within an original team. Veterinarians, doctors, researchers and engineers combine their expertise to promote excellence and innovation in the service of human and animal health.
UMR 703 INRAE/Oniris (or PAnTher for Animal Physiopathology and BioTherapy of Diseases of the Musculoskeletal and Nervous Systems) is ideally integrated into the Oniris veterinary campus and its veterinary university hospital centre, the Boisbonne Gene and Cell Therapy Research Centre and the INRAE Animal Health Department to carry out its primary missions of fundamental and applied research
UMR 703 INRAE/Oniris PAnTher i) deciphers the fundamental mechanisms underlying rare genetic diseases affecting the muscle, the nervous system, and their interface (the neuromuscular junction), ii) advances scientific knowledge and iii) provides resources for advanced medical applications. To carry out its research, teaching and innovation missions, the UMR relies on 3 essential assets :
  • integrated research from gene to animal,
  • the implementation of multidisciplinary approaches based on "omic" analysis, microfluidics, biophysics, chemistry and nanotechnologies,
  • and a unique platform -APEX- which combines the latest developments in multi-modal high-tech microscopy with internationally recognised expertise in comparative pathology (https://www6.angers-nantes.inrae.fr/panther_eng/News-events/APEX). All our pathologists are graduates of the European College of our specialty and are qualified to perform regulatory toxicopathology studies,
It can also count on a rich and internationally recognised scientific environment for its preclinical and medical research in the field of biotherapies.


As a major player in gene therapy, UMR 703 INRAE/Oniris PAnTher has developed a close partnership with :
  • INSERM Research Unit 1089 (Gene Therapy Laboratory), an expert in the field of viral vector production and translational research in gene therapy (https://umr1089.univ-nantes.fr/);
  • the Boisbonne Gene and Cell Therapy Centre, which has led to the creation of an integrated platform for Biotherapy and Animal Physiopathology covering the entire gene therapy pathway from proof of concept to phase I/II clinical trials.
Nikon Instruments Europe, in partnership with UMR 703 INRAE/Oniris PAnTher and the University of Nantes opened the Nikon Nantes Centre of Excellence (CENN) in 2016. The facilitated access to cutting-edge instruments in biphotonic and super-resolution microscopy as well as to expert teams, offers academic and industrial researchers an exceptional environment to remove scientific and technological barriers in the understanding and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, major public health issues and targets of NeurATRIS.

This public-private partnership, with its complementary expertise and know-how in biology and optics, contributes to strengthening exchanges between academic and industrial research, a catalyst for decisive scientific and technological breakthroughs.
➜ More information: https://www6.angers-nantes.inrae.fr/panther_eng/