NeurATRIS secures €4.8M in funding to renew its equipment and accelerate its technological developments.
As part of the Health Innovation Plan France 2030 call for projects, NeurATRIS has been selected to receive funding of €4.8 million, with the aim of modernizing its technological offering and accelerating its technological developments in terms of preclinical imaging and biomarker and biotherapy screening.
A STRATEGIC SUPPORT FOR FRENCH RESEARCH
As part of the France 2030 Health Innovation Plan, the government has decided to renew a large-scale investment plan for the biology-health sector, aimed at funding the rejuvenation and modernization of the technological and service offerings of the National Infrastructures for Biology and Health (INBS). This initiative seeks to maintain their competitiveness and better align their services with the needs of the relevant scientific communities.
A budget of 80 million euros has been allocated to the INBS to ensure their sustainability. NeurATRIS is among the seventeen infrastructures selected, underscoring the vital role of the infrastructure in the French landscape of translational neurosciences.
MODERNIZATION OF NEURATRIS EQUIPMENT
NeurATRIS offers a wide range of tools covering the entire continuum of translational neuroscience research, from molecular and cellular biology to studies on animal models and humans. However, with recent technological advancements, some essential equipment has become obsolete and needs to be renewed.
* PRECLINICAL IN VIVO IMAGING:
- The preclinical tomography scanners at the CEA-MIRCen PET platform, used for imaging biomarker studies, will be replaced by next-generation models that are more sensitive and offer higher resolution. This upgrade will facilitate advanced studies on rodent and non-human primate models.
* IN VITRO SCREENING OF BIOTHERAPIES:
- The imaging platform at the Brain Institute (ICM.Quant) will be equipped with a high-throughput imaging system to study complex models, such as organotypic slices or organoids derived from human iPS cells.
- The animal histology platform at UMR 703 PAnTher (APEX) will acquire a multiphoton microscope for multi-scale phenotyping of tissues and cells.
- The imaging platform at Neuro-Bicêtre will replace its aging transmission electron microscope (TEM) and pair it with new correlative microscopy approaches (CLEM).
DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SCREENING AND ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES
In order to maintain NeurATRIS platforms at the highest scientific and technical level, new capabilities will also be developed.
* IN VITRO SCREENING OF SMALL MOLECULES:
- Leveraging the expertise of the histology (Histomics), genomics (iGenseq), and data analysis (DAC) platforms, the ICM will develop a new large-scale multi-Omics spatial histology platform to support the discovery of new therapeutic targets and biomarkers.
- The APEX platform at UMR 703 PAnTher will acquire a spinning-disk microscope coupled with a DeepSIM super-resolution module, enabling the acquisition of super-resolved data from thick, non-cleared samples.
* IN VITRO SCREENING OF BIOTHERAPIES:
- The bioinformatics platform at Henri Mondor Hospital will acquire new bioinformatics servers, essential for "machine learning" studies developed for the early diagnosis of patients with Huntington's disease or Parkinson's disease (voice analysis).
- The proteomics platform at Henri Mondor Hospital will acquire protein quantification equipment for high-throughput analysis of biological samples from patients.
- The DHIM platform of the NeuroDiderot Unit 1141 will acquire an ultra-resolution multiplexed imaging system, enabling complex analyses that require the detection of multiple biomarkers in biological samples.
It is worth noting that NeuraTRIS has also received a grant included in the State budget, ensuring the necessary funding for its operation in the coming years.