Parasitic infections remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide; they plague billions of people and kill millions annually, and inflict debilitating injuries such as disfiguration on additional millions. Malaria alone is estimated to cause up to 500 million clinical cases and over one million deaths each year. The vast majority of infections in humans and domestic animals can be attributed to protozoan pathogens responsible for malaria, African sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis, bovine tropical theileriosis and amoebiasis. France has a longstanding tradition in academic parasitology research with several outstanding discoveries in the past. Although today, many groups have a very strong international visibility (2 ERC awards, 2 CNRS silver medals, organizers of prestigious international parasitology conferences) a number of weak points are apparent. Many laboratories work isolated (students and post docs do not know the community) and no common policy exists between laboratories dispersed over many sites in France. This causes an insufficient national/international visibility and low attractiveness for excellent students/researchers. In addition, sharing of competence and technical platforms is mostly lacking leading to a fragmented national parasitology community and duplication of efforts.
Leading groups of the French parasitology community have decided to integrate their scientific expertise and activities to combat major protozoan parasites as a consortium named ‘French Parasitology Alliance for Health Care’. This is the first time in France that a comprehensive alliance is proposed. The objectives of the French Alliance for Parasitology and Health Care (acronym ParaFrap) will address precisely the actual weakness to initiate a profound restructuration of the French parasitology community to build on their potential strength.
Why a national LabEx of parasitology?
France has a long tradition in parasitology research with outstanding discoveries. Laveran received in 1907 the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the protozoan parasite that causes malaria and Charles Nicolle first described Toxoplasma in 1908. Today, the French parasitology community is also pleased that two ParaFrap participants, Stéphanie Blandin (Young European Research Council program) and Elena Levashina are close collaborators of the 2011 Nobel Prize Jules Hoffmann (CNRS-University of Strasbourg, France), who has initiated the work on innate immunity on the malaria mosquito in 2001 in his unit. In addition, a large number of French research institutions host internationally recognized parasitology teams. At the same time, a number of innovative ‘small industry’ (SME) and ‘big pharma’ have demonstrated their interest and implication in combating major human and veterinary parasitic pathogens. However, traditionally, a large gap exists between academic research and industry that need to be overcome to foster national synergies in combating major disease caused by a variety of protozoan parasites. On the other hand, the absence of coordinated parasitology research between institutions leads to duplication of efforts and resources and not adequately national and international visibility of the parasitology community.
In February 2019, following an evaluation process conducted by an international jury, Frédérique VIDAL, Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, and the General Secretariat for Investment (SGPI) revealed the list of the 103 LabEx renewed. The LabEx ParaFrap was thus extended for 5 years (2020-2024). The international panel recognized the excellence of research and training within the LabEx, the strength and dynamics of the established network, the international reference which now is the biennial conference of ParaFrap, and the impact of the LabEx upon the visibility of French Parasitology.
ParaFrap will build on the strengths of the last 8 years to develop a new, ambitious and innovative joint research program. Our network was enriched with new partners selected by our international external scientific advisory board (eSAB) following a call for applications launched at the end of 2018. A new PhD programme will be launched in 2021.
Postdoctoral position, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France A 24-month post-doctoral position starting on March 1st 2025 and funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) is available in the Trypanosome...
Postdoctoral positions, LPHI Lab, Montpellier, France Two ERC-funded (JANUS 2024-2029) postdoc positions are open in the lab to study cell cycle regulation in malaria...
Postdoctoral position, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France A postdoc position is available at the Institut Pasteur Paris, in the signalling and host-parasite interactions research group, headed by Dr Najma Rachidi...
ABOUT SPEAKERS PROGRAMME REGISTRATION CONTACT LOCATION About the workshop ParaFrap is organizing the ParaFrap Next Generation in Parasitology...
[Communiqué] As part of the actions of the Health Innovation Plan 2030, the health component of the France 2030 plan, Mohamed-Ali Hakimi is one of the 22 laureates of an Excellence Chair in Biology/Health, supported to conduct high-level research...
The York Biomedical Research Institute (YBRI) are hosting an online live seminar on Friday 24th May 1-2pm BST as part of their biomedical science seminar series. You are all welcome to attend - registration is required via the...
[Communiqué] Congratulations to Arthur Talman, IRD Research Leader in the MIVEGEC laboratory (Montpellier), who has been awarded an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for the project "TROJAN - Molecular mimicry and immune...
Ana Rita Gomes, a CNRS Research Associate at the Laboratory of Pathogens and Host Immunity in Montpellier, and former Postdoctoral fellow of the LabEx ParaFrap, has been awarded the prestigious CNRS Bronze Medal in 2023. This...
Happy New Year 2024! To kick off this new scientific year, here is the ParaFrap webinar schedule. Since January 2021, ParaFrap has been organizing a series of webinars. This monthly event, held every 2nd Thursday of the month, aims to strengthen...
The team of Dr. Mohamed-Ali Hakimi, in collaboration with Isabelle Coppens (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Malaria Research Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA), has developed a new (epi)genetic method to produce in vitro...
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