HCERES scientific officer:

Mr Carsten JANKE

Representatives of supervising institutions and bodies:

Mr Sebastien STAERCK, CNRS Mr Sébastien THOMINE, CNRS

INTRODUCTION HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF THE UNIT

The Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique (IBPC) is a multidisciplinary research site in biology. It integrates research on macromolecular interactions, gene expression, membrane and cell biology, structural biology and bioenergetics. After a renovation of the building by the CNRS that lasted 10 years and which liberated 250 m 2 of new laboratories, IBPC, launched an international call in 2009 to host new research teams in biology, able to interact with the research units already installed at IBPC. Three teams were grouped together in the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Eukaryotes (FRE3354), a joint research unit created on 1 January 2010 and associated with the CNRS and Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC). The unit was therefore composed at its creation of 3 young teams developing complementary research topics on unicellular eukaryotic organisms such as the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae or the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

The management of the unit was entrusted to Stéphane LEMAIRE. In 2010, the IBPC launched a second call for the hosting of new teams, which resulted in the selection of 2 teams that joined FRE3354 in 2011: the team "RNA Metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae" (M. Lionel BENARD) and the team "Molecular chaperones and biogenesis of macromolecular assemblies" (M. Philippe MEYER). In 2013, FRE3354 was positively evaluated by AERES and became UMR8226 on 1 January 2014, with the same teams, same director and same affiliations (CNRS and UPMC), all inherited from FRE3354. UMR8226 is part of the 5 units of the IBPC located 13 rue Pierre and Marie Curie, 75005 Paris.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

SCIENTIFIC DOMAIN

The research projects developed by the 5 groups focus on fundamental processes of eukaryotic cells (DNA and RNA metabolism, post-translational modifications, folding and conformational activation of proteins, membrane fusion), using two model unicellular eukaryotes; the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

UNIT WORKFORCE

GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF THE UNIT

This is a small and young unit, which is very cohesive and participative in its organisation, with broad research interests in important fields. Since 2012, individual teams in the unit have produced exciting scientific findings in different fields, such as molecular biology and macromolecular assemblies (mRNA stability and translation; telomere length regulation and consequences in physiology; chaperones and macromolecular assembly) and bioenergetics and membrane dynamics (structural and biochemical studies in the mechanism of mitochondrial fusion, studies on redox signalling and new developments in synthetic biology). Some teams in the unit obtained highly competitive international research grants and distinctions. The unit is now well established, and the overall performance is very good, with several excellent scientific projects.

The unit managed to increase its CNRS & UPMC funding and permanent staff during the reference period. However, there is still some disparity in external research funding and group composition between the different teams. To attract more postdocs and PhD students, it will be important to obtain more grants and to increase the visibility of the unit and of the entire hosting institute (IBPC). While the small size of the unit and lack of collaborations was a concern in the last evaluation, this situation has improved. Despite their small size, the unit developed internal and external collaborations, which will lead to joint publications within the unit. Overall, the unit and IBPC may benefit from more joint activities and the establishment of additional platforms such as they have already done for the mass spectrometry unit.

The evaluation reports of Hceres are available online : www.hceres.com

Evaluation of clusters of higher education and research institutions Evaluation of higher education and research institutions Evaluation of research Evaluation of doctoral schools Evaluation of programmes International evaluation and accreditation

  Director's name (current contract): M. Stéphane LEMAIRE.Director's name (next contract): Ms Maria Teresa TEIXEIRA.

  time research directors (Directeurs de recherche) and similar positions 2 3Full time research associates (Chargés de recherche) and similar positions 5Other scientists ("Conservateurs, cadres scientifiques des EPIC, fondations, industries, etc.

and signed by their chairman." (Article 8, paragraph 5); 2 The evaluation reports "are signed by the chairman of the expert committee". (Article 11, paragraph 2). an independent and collegial reviewing by the committee.


Giuseppe Mr

Mr Roger Baldacci

Mr Michel Karess

Werner

This report is the sole result of the unit's evaluation by the expert committee, the composition of which is specified below. The assessments contained herein are the expression of an independent and collegial reviewing by the committee.

UNIT PRESENTATION

INTRODUCTION HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF THE UNIT

The Institut Jacques Monod (IJM) was founded in 1966 as the "Institut de Biologie Moleculaire", and celebrated its 50 th year in 2016. In 2009, the Institute moved from the Jussieu Campus of Universities Paris VI and VII to its present research facility, the Buffon building at the Paris Rive Gauche Campus of University Paris Diderot-Paris VII in the centre of Paris. The move to the Rive Gauche campus was accompanied by a considerable turnover of research teams (eight new teams joined at that time). This process has continued in the past quinquennium, with eight new teams being recruited to balance out the loss of ten teams (with one additional team leaving in 2018) through departures, closures and retirements.

During this period, the IJM was headed by Mr Giuseppe Baldacci. Following Mr Baldacci's retirement in September 2017, Mr Roger Karess became interim director until Mr Michel Werner took his post as IJM director in January 2018. At present, the IJM comprises around 320 staff and is one of the largest CNRS basic biological research institutes.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Head of the unit: Mr Michel Werner, deputy head: Mr Roger Karess.

HCERES NOMENCLATURE

SVE2.

SCIENTIFIC DOMAIN

The IJM has a wide research portfolio covering multiple aspects of basic biological research that broadly fall under three research axes: Genome and chromosome dynamics; Cellular dynamics and signaling; Development and evolution as well as two transverse research axes (Quantitative biology and modeling and Molecular and cellular pathologies). In order to avoid obstacles to scientific dialogue and collaboration, the research themes and axes do not represent formal departments, and research groups are encouraged to participate in multiple research areas.

UNIT WORKFORCE

GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF THE UNIT

The Institut Jacques Monod is a long-established basic biology institute (founded in 1966) located in the heart of Paris. Its broad research portfolio encompasses genome and chromosome dynamics, cell dynamics and signalling, development and evolution. Following a move and considerable turnover of the research teams in 2009, the IJM has made remarkable progress in the past quinquennium, as suggested by success in highly competitive international and national grant applications, a very strong publication output and an international reputation as a centre of scientific excellence. The attractiveness of the IJM is evident from the recruitment of several highly promising young group leaders who have integrated very successfully in the institute and created areas of real strength, with the emergence of a strong research line in biophysics/mechanobiology a particularly impressive example. IJM staffs are actively and successfully involved in teaching at Paris-Diderot University, and the institute has an extensive network of scientific interactions, both internally and externally. Finally, the IJM has excellent core facilities for imaging and proteomics, which provide added value for the institute and the Paris science community. While the outlook is highly promising, the IJM and its new director (appointed at the beginning of 2018) also face substantial challenges. The gradual loss of core-funded positions (CNRS and University) means that sustaining existing core facilities and providing technical support to research teams (both established and newly recruited) is increasingly challenging. Though the building is relatively new, there are a number of infrastructure issues, including air/water handling and insufficient IT/network capacity, which require urgent attention. Despite these challenges, thanks to a highly skilled and dedicated workforce and strong science leadership, the IJM is very well placed to consolidate its position as a flagship for basic biological research in the Paris University network and one of the very best bioscience institutes in France.

The evaluation reports of Hceres are available online : www.hceres.com

Evaluation of clusters of higher education and research institutions Evaluation of higher education and research institutions Evaluation of research Evaluation of doctoral schools Evaluation of programmes International evaluation and accreditation

Unit workforce Number 30/06/2017 Number 01/01/2019 Permanent staff

	TOTAL permanent staff	143	144
	Non-permanent staff
	Non-permanent professors and associate professors, including emeritus	13
	Non-permanent full time scientists, including emeritus, post-docs	40
	Non-permanent supporting personnel	23
	PhD Students	42
	TOTAL non-permanent staff	118
	TOTAL unit	261
	Full professors and similar positions	9	8
	Assistant professors and similar positions	20	21
	Full time research directors (Directeurs de recherche) and similar positions	23	23
	Full time research associates (Chargés de recherche) and similar positions	32	32
	Other scientists ("Conservateurs, cadres scientifiques des EPIC, fondations, industries, etc.")	0	0
	High school teachers	0	0