Consortium

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTÉ ET DE LA RECHERCHE MÉDICALE
(INSERM) FRANCE

METATISSUE
Human-based products for Cell Culture and Tissue Engineering – PORTUGAL

BEONCHIP
Biomimetic Environment on chip – SPAIN

IHU STRASBOURG – INSTITUT DE CHIRURGIE GUIDÉE PAR L’IMAGE
(IHU STRASBOURG) FRANCE

UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES KAISERSLAUTERN
(UASKL) GERMANY

CENTRE NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE
(CNRS) FRANCE

INSERM TRANSFERT SA
(IT) FRANCE

Complementation

2 Academic research organizations
INSERM and CNRS

2 SMEs
Metatissue, Beonchip

2 Universities
IHU Strasbourg, UASKL

1 Technology transfer office
IT

The participants have been selected upon their complementation of expertise, to guarantee the entire research resources and capabilities from cell profiling up to 3D organoid system development. This consortium benefits from an excellent work environment providing cutting-edge, imaging and transcriptomics and proteomics platforms, as well as access to patients’ samples and clinical data.

Excellence

The MITI2 consortium builds on the strong expertise and proven track record of the contributing beneficiaries, spanning different biological areas and experimental approaches.

  • Renowned researchers from across Europe, each with a strong technical, clinical and/or scientific background and highest expertise in the field of intestinal diseases, nanomedicine, immunology, neurology, biomaterial and mesofluidic device engineering.
  • Impressive track records of all beneficiaries in scientific publications in peer-reviewed high profile scientific journals with large visibility and high impact both in the scientific and public domains.

Cooperation

Several of the beneficiaries have been long-term collaborators and have already published joint publications or grants. The project will take advantage of the state-of-the-art facilities and platforms hosted by the beneficiaries’ institutions that are necessary to reach its ambitious scientific and technical objectives.
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INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTÉ ET DE LA RECHERCHE MÉDICALE (INSERM)
Paris France

Partner 1a: Inserm UMR 1302 / CNRS EMR 6001 « Immunology and New Concepts in Immunotherapy » (INCIT)

Location: Nantes, France
The central question of the INCIT joint research unit is to understand the dynamics of the immune response in physiological and pathological situations, in order to highlight the common mechanisms of immune escape in cancer and chronic inflammatory pathologies (inflammation and infection), and to propose original immunotherapy strategies to circumvent these situations.

To achieve this objective, they will rely on tools, cellular and animal models already developed in the unit and those to be developed in the future, as well as on the technological and scientific expertise acquired by the teams over the last 30 years in the knowledge of the various cellular and molecular mediators of innate and adaptive immunity.

Partner 1b: INSERM-UNISTRA UMR 1260 “Regenerative Nanomedicine”

Location: Strasbourg, France
The projects in UMR 1260 require a strong interdisciplinary work, involving transition from basic to translational research for understanding of disease mechanism, validation of therapeutic drug and delivery, biomarker discovery, and development of precision medicine in clinic. They use state-of-the-art-technologies such as nanomedicine-smart material, medicinal chemistry-drug discovery, pathway analyses-omics, 2D-cells and 3D-organoids models, as well as mice models of diseases, and formulations able to target the bioactive molecules or drugs. Their ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life, extend life expectancies, and reduce the healthcare burden.

Partner 1c: Inserm UMR 1113 « Interface de Recherche Fondamentale et Appliquée en Cancerologie » (IRFAC)

Location: Strasbourg, France
The translational cancer research laboratory is located on the site of the University Hospital of Strasbourg-Hautepierre, in close vicinity of the clinical Regional Institute of Cancer. It consists of basic scientists, clinicians and methodologists whose goal is to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of tumorigenesis (Team 1), of the response to treatments, with the aim of developing innovative therapies (Team 2), and the mechanisms that regulate gut stem cell (SC) homeostasis (Team 3).

METATISSUE - Human-based products for Cell Culture and Tissue Engineering (METATISSUE)
Ilhavo, Portugal

Metatissue® is focused on designing and manufacturing human protein-based products that find application in cell culture, tissue engineering and regeneration and disease modelling.

Our biomaterials provide realistic microenvironments for cell culture allowing for greater cell-to-cell and cell-to-matrix interaction resemblance, thereby increasing the accuracy of in vitro studies.

BEONCHIP - “Biomimetic Environment On Chip” (BEONCHHIP)
Zaragoza, Spain

At Beonchip we use cutting edge materials and microfabrication techniques to create the next generation of in vitro testing platforms, allowing the performance of experiments in vitro that were impossible or only possible in vivo before. Therefore, reducing the cost and time span needed for the development of new drugs, cosmetics and chemicals. We firmly believe that more and better in vitro research is needed in order to reduce the ethical and economic burden of an oversized animal research market.

IHU Strasbourg – Institute of Image-Guided (IHU)
Strasbourg, France

The Strasbourg Institute for Image-Guided Surgery is a multidisciplinary institute dedicated to the creation and dissemination of innovative image-guided therapies guided by imaging for optimized, safe, and personalised patient care.

The IHU Strasbourg includes a medical-surgical centre dedicated to the treatment of digestive tract pathologies. The IHU Strasbourg develops innovative surgery that incorporates all the latest technological and organizational innovations. The ambition is to establish an international standard for the precise, personalized treatment of abdominal diseases, including cancers of the digestive tract and morbid obesity.

Hochschule Kaiserslautern - University of applied sciences “Enteric Nervous System research group” (AGENS)
Zweibrücken, Germany

The Enteric Nervous System research group (AGENS) is concerned with the development, adaptation and damage of the enteric nervous system (ENS), as well as its interactions with other compartments of the intestinal wall.  On the one hand, the group focuses on the influence of different factors on the development and regeneration of the ENS and of neural stem cells within the intestinal nervous system. The group uses an interdisciplinary approach with a broad spectrum of methods:

Primary 2- and 3-dimensional culture systems (primary ENs cultures, neural stem cells of the peripheral and central NS, DRG, brain slices), cocultures, life cell and calcium imaging, multiplex ELISA, proteomics, histologic evaluation of intestinal slices (colitis, Hirschsprung's disease, Alzheimer's disease), multielectrode arrays (MEA), patch clamp, and motility measurements on ex-vivo intestinal segments.

CNRS UPR3572 - Immunology, immunopathology and therapeutic chemistry (I2CT)
Strasbourg, France

The Immunopathology and Therapeutic Chemistry Laboratory (I2CT) - UPR 3572 is one of the three CNRS units of Strasbourg's Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMC). The general objective of our research unit is to understand the molecular and cellular basis of the immune response and its dysfunctions, with the aim of defining new therapeutic avenues for targeted immuno-intervention in the treatment of autoimmune, tumoral and viral pathologies.

Most of the strategies developed aim to modulate cellular ligand-receptor or molecular ligand-receptor interactions. The laboratory draws on approaches in immunology, cell and molecular biology, organic chemistry and pharmacology, structure-function studies, physiology, animal experimentation and cellular imaging.

Inserm Transfert (IT)
Paris, France

Inserm Transfert, founded in 2000, is Inserm's private subsidiary under Public Service Concession, specialized in technology transfer in the life sciences and the search for collaborative funding.

Inserm Transfert supports Inserm's research units and researchers in their efforts to valorise their results. Our action is part of the translational continuum from fundamental and technological research to clinical and applied research, to create economic and societal value.