 Introduction History and geographical location of the unit

For the next contract, Biodiversity and Landscape Management will integrate two units, SAD-Landscape research unit (20 staff) and the Landscape Ecology unit (9 staff). Twenty-nine staff will comprise the new unit.

The SAD-Landscape research unit is currently located at AGROCAMPUS OUEST in Rennes and in Le Rheu. The goal of the SAD-Landscape research unit is to identify and assess interactions between agriculture, landscape and biodiversity in order to reconcile agricultural activities with the ecological processes required to maintain ecosystem services provided by biodiversity. The unit was created in 1993 to research the role of intensive (industrial) polyculture-livestock systems in the ecological organization of landscape. It was integrated in a network of research laboratories in Rennes, which become the "CAREN" in 1998, then the "Earth, Ecosystems and Societies" OSUR in 2010. To date, the unit remains associated with the OSUR. In 2010 (the last AERES assessment), the AERES committee and the SAD Department of INRA advised that the unit was appropriately and convincingly established in the field of landscape agroecology, and encouraged it to further develop its research in this direction. In 2005, Ms Véronique CHABLE joined the SAD-Paysage unit to develop research in the area of participatory plant breeding for organic and low-input agriculture; this scope was later broadened to include research on cultivated diversity, from farm to fork, with the aim of implementing resilient crop systems for the production of local, high-quality food.

The Landscape Ecology unit began in 2008 as a Landscape unit and comprised academics from AGROCAMPUS OUEST, who were joined in 2009 by members of "Groupe ESA" (School for Higher Education in Agriculture) working in the field of landscape ecology. The objective of the unit is to develop interdisciplinary approaches for studies of landscape that include considerations of ecology, physical geography and human geography. In January 2013, researchers in human geography left the unit to join "UMR ESO". Based on these changes, the unit's title was modified to "Landscape and Ecology". In Angers, the research team unites researchers/lecturers from two Ministry of Agriculture schools of higher education in order to develop research in the field of ecology applied to landscape planning.

Management team

The new unit Biodiversity and Landscape unit is structured as a single team, in order to promote a coordination between research and functioning activities that is consistent with its size. The current director of the SAD Paysage unit is Ms Claudine THENAIL, who has held this position since 2006. The current director of the Landscape Ecology unit is Mr Hervé DANIEL. In 2017, Mr Alexandre JOANNON, who was recruited in 2005, will succeed as the director of the new Biodiversity and Landscape unit. The unit has structured their scientific strategy to develop a landscape agroecological approach, based on their interdisciplinary resources. The aim is to further develop interactions between issues addressed in biotechnical (agronomy, livestock sciences) and ecological sciences. The unit has developed research questions related to biodiversity in the context of i) farm management techniques and agricultural production and ii) maintenance of biodiversity and associated ecological functions for stakeholders in landscape management. Based on extensive experience of agricultural landscapes, their objective in landscape ecological sciences is to strengthen the integration of the analysis of ecological processes of landscape structures and dynamics that are generated by agricultural practices. In agricultural sciences, where their experience is less advanced, the aim is to build and consolidate new skills and knowledge regarding the implications of farm management for landscape and biodiversity, in intensive or industrial crop-livestock systems. The final goal is to put the emphasis on the different timescales of agricultural and ecological processes and to evaluate their implications at different landscape scales. Based on skills in computer sciences, the unit has also committed to further developing their collective modelling of the interactions between agriculture, landscape, and biodiversity.

HCERES

The scientific strategy is aimed at strengthening the unit's scientific expertise in the field of landscape agroecology at local, national, and international levels. At the local level, the unit, which remains rather small despite new staff, is well integrated in a scientific and institutional context. They have strengthened their local scientific and institutional network by promoting complementary issues and skills in environmental/agrienvironmental sciences. This is illustrated by the development of collaborative projects (including PhD projects), notably with the UMR IGEPP, and also by the long-term research investigations they are involved in (e.g., with the Sebiopag network including five observatories or ZA in France). They have also made significant contributions to the research themes of the OSUR, particularly on landscape dynamics, and to the themes of the INRA Centre of Rennes (e.g. functioning and management of terrestrial and aquatic agroecosystems). Moreover, they contributed with colleagues of the OSUR to the development of a scientific project in the field of landscape and environmental social and human sciences (e.g., project "Dipee" Landscape School). At the national and international levels, their aim was to develop work that focuses on the interface between the issues of agricultural and multifunctional landscapes. Regarding the biotechnical sciences, their aim, at the national and international levels, has been to contribute to the emergence of scientific networks that were previously poorly represented in their field (e.g., animal science and territory agronomy).

Most of the recommendations of the previous AERES panel have been followed. Recommendations that have been successfully considered are to focus the work of the unit on landscape agro-ecology rather than on socioecological systems, to focus particularly on the organisation of farming practices and their impact biodiversity and ecosystem services, and to use modelling to aggregate different disciplines. The unit has also improved the capacity of senior researchers to supervise PhD students through the defence of two HDRs. During the last AERES assessment, it was suggested that their studies in the biotechnical disciplines should be further integrated with ecology. The unit has made some progress towards this recommendation, for example, through collaboration on the EU funded SOLIBAM project. However, further integration could be achieved, but only where it is clearly beneficial to the research of both groups. The last assessment also suggested an increase in the number of interdisciplinary publications, but few such outputs have been published.

Global assessment of the unit

This project will integrate two small existing units who work in agronomy, biodiversity and landscape management in agricultural, rural and urban systems. The two groups have highly complementary skills and research interests, and the integration of these units should benefit and increase their scientific output. The aims of the scientific project have a strong chance of success because they are in line with emerging social and political strategies to integrate biodiversity, and associated ecosystem services, into landscape management in urban and rural contexts. The unit has very strong partnerships with a range of stakeholders, including excellent connections with the agricultural sectors, a key player in acting on project outputs. This should result in real potential for the uptake of research findings into policy. Much of the unit's current work is in regional or national contexts, although many of the scientific outputs are relevant to international audiences and although the group leads EU funded projects. While the project is highly relevant and the team is very well placed to successfully deliver its objectives, the project does face some challenges. The multi-disciplinary nature of the project means it runs the risk of falling between funding poles and not qualifying for funding from either. To maximise the potential of the project, the team needs to carefully ensure integration between current research groups and strands. The number of peer-reviewed publications per researcher is currently quite low and needs to be increased; increasing the number of HDR staff, and thus PhD students, may increase output. The project is lacking staff expertise in geomatics and, if not managed, future staff retirements may cause issues achieving project objectives.

Strengths and opportunities in the context

The two existing teams that will combine to form this new unit have complementary skills and experience, and, if they integrate well, will be powerful in advancing the field of landscape ecology. Furthermore, both teams currently have strong collaborations with geographers, social scientists, economists and stakeholder groups. The integration of the two groups should expand this potential for collaboration and synergy with these experts.

The unit has a wide range of very strong partnerships with stakeholders, including excellent connections with the agricultural sector, a key player in acting on project outputs. There is also a good focus on both regional and international issues, with partnerships established to address both.

The key aims of the project have a strong chance of success because they are in line with emerging social and political strategies to integrate biodiversity, and associated ecosystem services/functions, into landscape management in urban and rural contexts. Nevertheless, other functions not directly linked to biodiversity such as water cycling might also be of interest in terms of agricultural impacts. The project is supported by proactive local, national and international policies, e.g., Ecophyto and the national strategy on Biodiversity. Furthermore, some farmers and agriculturalists are also reducing their inputs and are seeking advice on how to manage their land to enhance biodiversity. Urban areas are seeking guidance on how to integrate biodiversity enhancement and protection into their activities. This project has the potential to provide information to support farming and planning in these goals. In particular, information on trade-offs and synergies between land management practices, biodiversity and ecosystem service provision (such as production, pollination, pest control and resilience) should help inform better planning and practice.

Each of the two existing teams has its own field sites and taxonomic expertise. The development of projects on shared sites with more measures of biodiversity (number of taxa) will lead to more powerful datasets and outputs in the future. The cross-scale (temporal and spatial) nature of the unit's work is challenging, but their evaluation of ecosystem dynamics at these different scales is exciting and original.

The project will be attached to agricultural centres of education. This should make it possible to educate the next generation of agronomists using research-informed teaching.

The combining of the two existing units based in Angers and Rennes will give the new unit access to two regional sources of funding (Loire and Brittany). The increased cross-disciplinary nature of the new unit may also provide access to multiple poles of funding (although see Weakness below).

Weaknesses and threats in the context

Although integrative and multi-disciplinary research has strengths, the project potentially runs the risk of falling between funding poles (urban and plants), with increased risk of not qualifying for funding from either.

The number of peer-reviewed publications per researcher is currently quite low and needs to be increased. The small size of the existing units may be resulting in a higher organisational workload and the restructuring into one larger unit may solve this.

The project is split across multiple sites in different cities. While communication strategies are being developed, this poses administrative burdens. The distribution of staffing is imbalanced, with few staff located in Angers and those that are having the highest teaching workload.

There may be some challenges integrating insights from differing strands of research, as the foci are not always consistent. For example, some projects focus on low-input farming and others only on intensive farming. Shared projects and methodologies will overcome this.

The project is lacking staff expertise in geomatics and GIS.

Excellent work is being carried out in the fields of both crop diversity and landscape ecology, but there has been limited integration between these two groups. While further integration would be helpful, it is possible that the scale of focus of these two sub-fields makes collaborative work challenging. Further integration should only occur where there is added benefits to both groups of researchers.

Recommendations

For the project integration to have maximum impact, it would be helpful if a conceptual diagram was developed that identified the key issues, pathways of impact (including recommendations for landscape management and at a higher policy level) and the manner in which the various projects address these issues. This would help in the identification of gaps and overlaps between research strands and projects, and might help define or clarify the longterm vision on impact and integration. The unit will need to ensure the integration of the existing two teams, and between projects. Currently, specific research projects of the two groups address specific land use types and/or taxa. The project provides the potential for broadening and integration, and therefore high impact papers, but the risk of researches staying in their accustomed contexts should be borne in mind. With limited funding, incentives for broadening, adapting and sharing data and approaches should be identified.

To address potential issues of staffing resources and expertise, particularly in geomatics, interactions with other research units in the region should be developed. Units with current expertise in geomatics should be targeted for collaboration. If this is not possible, the potential for requesting funding for a new position shared between a number of units should be explored.

Many of the project aims seek to quantify the synergies between biodiversity and farming practices. However, some of the benefits or functions positive to farmers and not directly linked to biodiversity (e.g., in terms of reduced inputs or increased yield, cycling, erosion control, etc.) are implicit rather than measured. The group could consider explicitly measuring some benefits to farmers, such as increased yield or reduction in inputs, to put the findings in perspective and encourage uptake. This could increase the scientific and social impact of the work. As the group has collaborations with geographers, social scientists and economists, the development of such metrics is feasible.

PhD students do not often meet with students from other units, although they did not perceive this to be a problem. However, increased interaction should be encouraged, as these opportunities for sharing experiences could be helpful to their education. To enhance collaboration and communication between sites, transport and housing support could be provided, particularly for students.

The unit produces novel and exciting research, but most of it is published in subject-specific journals, which generally have lower impact factors. It is understood that subject-specific journals are usually read by the article intended audience. However, to increase international exposure, the unit could seek to increase the impact factor of the journals they submit to. This could be done by increasing the collaborative components of the work, e.g., multitaxa, multi-landscape projects, and the unit is well placed to do so. Combining research data in this way may result in an overall reduction in the number of journal articles, but an occasional high impact paper does bring further international recognition. There are different stories to tell with the same datasets, and the unit may be able to produce multiple layers of information from a single large dataset and publish in a range of peer-reviewed journals. The unit should also consider including some questions relating to fundamental science into the new project, as these are sometimes relevant to the highest impact journals.

nomenclature SVE2_LS8 SVE2_LS9 Scientific domains SVE Sciences du Vivant et Environnement Unit workforce Unit workforce Number on 30/06/2015 Number on 01/01/2017 N1: Permanent

	professors and similar positions	6
	N2: Permanent researchers from Institutions and similar positions	6
	N3: Other permanent staff (technicians and administrative personnel)	12
	N4: Other professors (Emeritus Professor, on-contract Professor, etc.)
	N6: Other contractual staff (technicians and administrative personnel)

N7: PhD students TOTAL N1 to N7 Qualified research supervisors (HDR) or similar positions Unit record From 01/01/2010 to 30/06/2015

	PhD theses defended Postdoctoral scientists having spent at least 12 months in the unit Number of Research Supervisor Qualifications (HDR) obtained during the period 2  Overall assessment of the unit	10


president Michel Cosnard

Karim Amighi

Evaluation report

This report is the sole result of 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 name:

Micro et Nanomédecines Biomimétiques Since 2012, the MINT unit is located at the CHU of Angers in a new building (Institut de Biologie en Santé). This building gathers 8 laboratories and 5 technical platforms, forming a federative research structure named "Interactions cellulaires et applications thérapeutiques". The MINT infrastructures are located at the 3 rd floor of the building and have a total surface of 1130 m².

Management team

The MINT unit is currently headed by Mr Jean-Pierre BENOIT. For the next contract, Mr Patrick SAULNIER will lead the laboratory.

HCERES nomenclature

SVE

SVE1_LS5

SVE1_LS3

Scientific domains

The MINT unit is involved in the development and physico-chemical characterization of molecular assemblies (i.e. pharmaceutical vectors) aimed to transport and deliver one or several active compounds to a target site. All the steps from the conception to the pre-clinical evaluation of the developed pharmaceutical vectors are performed using the know-how and the facilities available in the unit. The MINT unit has developed its research in the field of the technology for health, with the development and preclinical testing of new formulations of known pharmacological medicines to improve their absorption, stability and overall effects. The unit is mainly focusing on the formulation of molecules applied to the treatment of cancer (glioblastoma and pulmonary cancer) and the formulation of microspheres encapsulating therapeutical proteins, acting as pharmacologically active microcarriers (PAM), which permitted to enhance the survival, differentiation and regenerative potential of mesenchymal stromal cells for application in tissue repair and regeneration. The pharmaceutical vectors are developed to transport and deliver one or several active compounds to a target site at a given time and during a period of time. Since 2012, the MINT unit focused on two research axes:

Unit workforce

Unit workforce

(i) Nanomedecines for cancer therapy: lipidic nanocapsules (LNC) are obtained by temperature induced phase inversion method in the absence of organic solvent. This rapid and robust process was developed in the 90's in the MINT unit. The LNC formed are now well characterized and used by clinicians for the treatment of several cancers. During this period, researches were focused on the development of a formulation platform enabling the encapsulation and controlled release of different drugs (anticancer drugs, radiopharmaceutics, siRNA, DNA, peptides and polysaccharides) and the functionalization of the surface of the vectors for applications in cancer treatment (glioblastoma, bronchial cancer). Both passive targeting (through EPR effect) and active targeting (peptide NFL-TBS.40-63) have been considered. More recently, the oral route has been considered as an alternative to IV injection. To enhance the biodistribution of the nanovectors in vivo, their diffusion in the gastric mucus has to be optimized. Therefore theoretical as well as experimental studies are in progress.

(ii) Microparticles for tissue engineering: The MINT unit has developed in parallel biodegradable and biomimetic microparticles able to encapsulate and release therapeutic proteins such as growth factors. These microparticles consisted in poly-lactide-co-glycolide acide (PLGA) copolymers or calcium carbonate and are obtained using supercritical CO 2 based techniques. The development of in situ measurement apparatus (for instance: pendant-drop tensiometer, Xray diffusion and diffraction, ...) allowed to address the question of the cristallisation of CaCO 3 . Bioactive proteins, such as trophic factors, have been successfully encapsulated in PLGA microspheres. These objects are called MAP (pharmacologically active microcarriers) and can be used as 3D support for cell cultures while delivering active compounds. This has been used to prepare brain implants especially for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. In this field, the choice of cells and ex vivo models was shown to be of crucial importance.

All the steps from the conception to the pre-clinical evaluation of the developed pharmaceutical vectors are performed using the know-how and the facilities available in the unit. Moreover, the conception of the new pharmaceutical vectors follows the QbD (Quality by Design) approach, taking into account all the risks implied by the production process and their subsequent use in vivo. The restrictions linked to biopharmaceutical aspects such as administration route, toxicity and biodistribution are evaluated beforehand. The use of organic solvants is avoided to limit their potential toxicities and acceptable excipients for human use are preferably selected in the developed formulation. The laboratory is currently asking for an ISO 9001 certification.

For the next contract, the group developing the work on radiopharmaceutics and cancer will leave the unit and two groups will join the MINT unit: a small group of pharmacologists and a group from the neurobiology and transgenesis laboratory (EA 3143, U Angers). The latter group is already collaborating with the MINT unit for the formulation of an original tubulin peptide presenting an antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo. Due to this reorganisation, the scientific project will be then refocused on development of new formulations adapted to get through tissue barriers (either endothelial or epithelial).

Global assessment of the unit

The MINT unit has a strong expertise in the formulation of original lipid nanocapsules and microspheres. This multidisciplinary team is well recognized by the national and international community. Its research activities have led to the publication of an impressive number of original international articles during the present contract (close to 200) regarding the number of permanent staff in the unit. Most of the journals can be considered as good or even excellent (mean IF of 4.92, more than 80% of the papers are published in journals with IF > 3). The research activities of the unit have also led to 6 patents and the creation of a spin-off (Carlina technology). The unit is well funded through charities, industries and national or European projects. The research proposed for the next contract is sound and based on previous innovations. However, due to the restructuration of the unit, the biological applications for the new formulations look quite broad or non-sufficiently focused.

Strengths and opportunities in the context

The multidisciplinarity of the staff members is probably a strength of the MINT unit. This allows addressing the projects from a fundamental to an applied point of view. The unit will benefit from the local technical support of the Federative Research Structure (SFR) and the facilities of the Faculty of Pharmacy to get access to important technical platforms in the same building (e.g. animal housing, microscopy and imaging platform, cellular analysis, radiobiology). The unit has developed a good European collaborative network and good contractual links with the pharma industry. The financial support from the region and the industry is relatively high. The reorganisation of the unit with the venue of the two groups from the University of Angers should reinforce the biological expertise of the unit and provide the opportunity to develop new formulation strategies for an original and potent powerful tool for cancer treatment, the peptide NFL-TBS.40-63. To date, the unit had an excellent recruitment of PhD students.

Weaknesses and threats in the context

The important turnover of the permanent people may affect the dynamics of the unit and slow down its research activities. In 2010, 13 people arrived in the unit, and in the next contract 5 other people, including pharmacologists and biologists, will join the team, while 7 plan to move to the "Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie Nantes Angers". This represents an important fraction of the permanent staff. Recruitment of researchers or groups working on preclinical validation could reinforce the visibility and valorisation of the work.

As mentioned in the report, an increased number of research topics is not desirable given the relatively small number of permanent researchers. More particularly, the proposed research axis 2 of the project is extensive and could lead to the dispersion of the strengths.

Recommendations

The unit should try to recruit new researchers in order to counterbalance the staff reduction expected for the next contract. Moreover, it should be attentive to the integration of the newcomers and of their research activities to its global scientific strategy. The label by both INSERM and CNRS is important for researchers from these institutes. The development of new strategies to form nano-and micro-particles and the diffusion of nano-objects in hydrogels fit with the themes of the Section 11 and CID 54 of the CNRS. It is also vital for the future development of the unit and for maintaining the fruitful contacts with the pharma industry to preserve the QbD approach currently used for the conception of the pharmaceutical vectors.

  Mr Karim AMIGHI, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgique Experts: Mr Hervé KOVACIC, Université Aix-Marseille (representative of the CNU) Ms Emmanuelle MARIE, ENS Paris (representative of the CoNRS) Mr Pierre MARQUET, CHU Limoges (representative of the CSS INSERM) Scientific delegate representing the HCERES: Mr Jean-Marie ZAJAC Representatives of supervising institutions and bodies: Ms Chantal LASSERE, INSERM Ms Annabel LE LIDEC, INSERM, Mr Christian PILLET, Université d'Angers Ms Isabelle RICHARD, Université d'Angers Ms Alexa ROUEZ, Université d'Angers Mr Jean-François TASSIN, CNRS Head of Doctoral School: Mr Joël EYER, Doctoral school ED N° 502, "Biologie Santé Nantes Angers" 1  Introduction History and geographical location of the unit The unit INSERM U1066 "Micro et Nanomédecines Biomimétiques" MINT was created following the merging of three structures (Pharmacie Galénique, Biophysique Médicale et Biophysique Pharmaceutique) in the late 90's. In 2004, the unit became the INSERM unit U646 «Ingénierie de la Vectorisation Particulaire». In 2012, the unit was reconducted as the Inserm UMR 1066 MINT (Micro et Nanomédecines biomimétiques) under the supervision of Mr Jean-Pierre BENOIT.

Number on 30/06/2015 Number on 01/01/2017 N1: Permanent

	professors and similar positions	18	15
	N2: Permanent researchers from Institutions and similar positions	2	2
	N3: Other permanent staff (technicians and administrative personnel)	9	7
	N4: Other professors (Emeritus Professor, on-contract Professor, etc.)
	N5: Other researchers from Institutions (Emeritus Research Director, Postdoctoral students, visitors, etc.)	6
	Unit record	From 01/01/2010
		to 30/06/2015
	PhD theses defended	26

N6: Other contractual staff (technicians and administrative personnel) 4 N7: PhD students 28 TOTAL N1 to N7 67 Qualified research supervisors (HDR) or similar positions 14 *Estimated number of PhD student at 25/01/2016 according to the number of student currently in the unit. This number should be increased by at least 10 new ones, to be hired according to upcoming contracts. Postdoctoral scientists having spent at least 12 months in the unit 14 Number of Research Supervisor Qualifications (HDR) obtained during the period 2  Overall assessment of the unit Introduction


president Michel Cosnard

Evaluation report

This report is the sole result of 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 name:

Institut du thorax The unit is located at the IRS-UN of Nantes, a university building opened in 2009, in a total of 2.600 m 2 dispatched between 2 levels. Animal facilities, technological platforms and biotech companies are located in the same building.

Management team

The unit is currently headed by Mr Hervé LE MAREC. For the next 5 years, the unit will be directed by Mr Richard REDON with the help of Ms Gervaise LOIRAND as deputy head.

HCERES nomenclature

SVE1_LS4

Scientific domains

Cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic disease, population science, genetics of human diseases.

Unit workforce

Unit workforce

Number 2  Overall assessment of the unit

Introduction

The unit was initially focused on cardiac arrhythmias and vascular signalling. During the last years, the teams of the unit have developed an increasingly strong interest in genomics and pathophysiology of cardiovascular, metabolic and respiratory diseases. In addition, they have pursued a strategy oriented to translate scientific outputs into personalized treatment of human diseases.

Global assessment of the unit

The unit comprises 160 investigators and is organized in 7 teams, of which 2 focusing on human genetics, 4 on the pathophysiology of cardiovascular and respiratory disease and 1 on therapeutic innovation. Recruitment of new staff since 2010 consists of 15 new permanent positions, 4 research associates, 4 associate professors and 7 professors. 15 post-doctoral researchers have been recruited in the same period. On top of the ones previously mentioned, 2 new positions have been secured to expand the research on heart failure.

The unit is embedded in a university hospital and has significant connections with National and International networks. Since 2010 they have generated 249 publications, 20% of which are outstanding (IF>10). Of 249 publications, 130 have a member of the team as first/senior author. There is a strong commitment to training and communication. The unit has organized various scientific events and was active in communicating with the lay public through different activities. In addition, the team has been associated to 4 major scientific networks, of which 1 is supported by the FP7 EU programme. The unit has received national and international awards for outstanding scientific contributions in genetics of cardiovascular disease, heart failure, metabolic disease and hypertension. The declared mission for the next 5 years is to strengthen the scientific standing, harmonizing the production of different teams and setting up increased collaboration with clinicians to allow the exploitation of preclinical results.

Overall the unit has performed very well during the last 5 years. The written document and the presentations have provided clear evidence of competitiveness at an international level. Large and impressive observational data emerge from genetic and population based studies of the unit. There is a clear commitment from local institutions, i.e. the university and hospital, to support the institute.

Weaknesses and threats in the context

The distribution of publications is moderately skewed among teams, with the cardiovascular genetics team being distinctively outstanding in this regard. However, the average publication record is generally excellent and there is a plan to invest on new technologies to increase research novelty and competitiveness. The written document did not state the actual turnover of personnel during the last 5 years and criteria of recruitment and retention. However, these points were clarified during the onsite visit and appear in line with international standards.

Difficulties in recruiting exceptional talents from abroad have been a matter of discussion. The unit has in place a plan to fill the gap through a more intensive valorisation of its scientific results and through networking at the international level.

Recommendations

Since the declared mission is to invest in translational research and personalized medicine, the unit should make a major effort to produce significant results on functional phenotyping, and to translate these results into druggable targets. It was noted that the unit is investing on innovation, yet maintaining the focus on its field of recognized expertise. One emerging concept is the use of iPSCs, especially from urine samples, which could be used in screenings for the study of inherited diseases. This could turn out to be a very potent instrument, but given the current limitation of complete differentiation of iPSCs into mature cardiovascular cells, they should be cautious not to invest only in this tool for innovation. In fact, they have identified multidisciplinary approaches (mathematics, bioinformatics etc) that could complement the present approach. The number of ongoing projects is high and may need some critical appraisal in the next 12 months to ensure feasibility. Measures to increase internationalization need to be considered to improve the unit's attractiveness. This should be part of a wider plan to create collaborative associations with excellence centres abroad seeding the soil for international grants applications.

  BELTRAMI, University of Udine, Italy Ms Catherine BOILEAU, University of Paris 13 Mr Alberico CATAPANO, University of Milan, Italy Ms Carlie DE VRIES, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Mr Jules HANCOX, University of Bristol, UK Mr Stephane HATEM, University of Paris 6 (representative of the CSS INSERM) Mr Peter HORDJIK, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Mr Richard ISNARD, University of Paris 6 (representative of the CNU) Ms Dominique SIGAUDO-ROUSSEL, University of Lyon (representative of the CoNRS) Scientific delegate representing the HCERES: Mr Patrick LACOLLEY Representatives of supervising institutions and bodies: Mr Frédéric BENHAMOU, University of Nantes Mr Alain EYCHENE, CNRS Ms Chantal LASSERRE, INSERM Head of Doctoral School: Ms Corinne MIRAL, Doctoral School, ED n° 502 "École Doctorale Biologie Santé Nantes Angers" 1  Introduction History and geographical location of the unit This research unit was first recognized by INSERM in 1996 and renewed several times as an INSERM structure. It has been integrated since 2004 into the Institut du Thorax, a National Thematic Centre for Research and Healthcare. In 2013, the research unit became a core member of the DHU 2020, a translational department labelled by the French National Alliance for Life Sciences and Health, Nantes University Hospital and the University of Nantes.

Unit record From 01/01/2010 to 30/06/2015

	on 30/06/2015 23 (FTE 8.1) 16 (FTE 16) 30 (FTE 22.3) 1 (FTE 0.5) 6 (FTE 6) 41 (FTE 33.4) 20 (FTE 20) 137 (FTE 106.3) Number of Research Supervisor Qualifications (HDR) obtained during the period N1: Permanent professors and similar positions N2: Permanent researchers from Institutions and similar positions N3: Other permanent staff (technicians and administrative personnel) N4: Other professors (Emeritus Professor, on-contract Professor, etc.) N5: Other researchers from Institutions (Emeritus Research Director, Postdoctoral students, visitors, etc.) N6: Other contractual staff (technicians and administrative personnel) N7: PhD students TOTAL N1 to N7 Postdoctoral scientists having spent at least 12 months in the unit Qualified research supervisors (HDR) or similar positions PhD theses defended	Number on 01/01/2017 21 (FTE 7.7) 15 (FTE 15) 29 (FTE 22.7) 36 22 4


president Michel Cosnard

Evaluation report

This report is the sole result of 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. For the next quinquennium, the unit will be a merger between the unit created in Nantes and another unit from Tours (François Rabelais University and University Hospital). Most of Tour unit members were part of -or collaborated with -the METHODS team (Therapeutic Evaluation Methods for Chronic Diseases) of the INSERM Center of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics Sorbonne Paris Cité -CRESSS U1153. And their main research topics were pragmatic clinical trials and notably cluster randomized trials.

The new unit will therefore be located both in Nantes and in Tours.

Management team

The unit is directed by Ms Véronique SEBILLE, professor. In the new configuration, Ms Véronique SEBILLE will be assisted by Mr Bruno GIRAUDEAU, professor, who will act as deputy director in Tours.

HCERES nomenclature

Domaine disciplinaire principal : SVE1_LS7 Epidémiologie, Santé Publique, Recherche Clinique, Technologies Biomédicales Domaine disciplinaire secondaire : SHS1_1 Economie Domaine disciplinaire secondaire : SHS4_Psychologie

Scientific domains

Biostatistics and psychometrics, health economics and psychological analyses of PRO measures, pharmacological and clinical approaches in pharmaco-dependence and addictive disorders. Using publications as a guide the main interests of the unit are psychometrics, clinical epidemiology, addiction studies, pharmacology/pharmaco-epidemiology and biostatistics. A further interest is prognostic modelling of chronic disease but this is mostly focused on kidney transplantation. A lot of the work is methodological in nature. The unit in Tours seems to have more of a practical focus, with a lot of specific clinical questions being addressed by original research or reviews. The combination of the two units would be a nice balance of practical and methodological work; however the specialty interests of the two units are not identical -e.g. Tours has an interest in Dermatology which does not match with Nantes' interests.

Unit workforce

Unit

The general objectives proposed for the future remain generally methodological in nature and it would be helpful to articulate the particular societal challenges the proposed unit aims to address. From a strategic perspective, the unit is very well positioned to support the investigation of applied biostatistical research that aims to improve clinical decision making.

Global assessment of the unit

Both Nantes and Tour unit are very productive. The average output of the researchers is prolific. 349 peerreviewed publications have been produced in the 2010-2015 period (6.2 publications per full-time equivalent), 43% (152) were signed as first, second or last author, with a significant contribution in methodological journals (Stat Med, BMC Med Res Methodol, Qual Life Res, Stat Methods Med Res, Epidemiology, J Clin Epidemiol, Biostatistics, J Biopharm Stat, J Gamble Study). The unit is also particularly skilled at generating funding. The combined teams have received 44 grants (38 Nantes -6 Tours) mainly from national agencies.

The researchers at Nantes have generally focused on methodological issues and this could be balanced with an increased focus on applied research that can be translated for patient benefit.

The training in biostatistics and epidemiology offered by the Nantes unit is generally satisfactory but the doctoral students would benefit from being linked into training schemes which expose them to other disciplinary perspectives (e.g. population health, health services, health policy, health economics). There is a risk that the current students will only be comfortable working within their disciplinary boundaries. The Nantes group provides a great public service by training future biostatisticians who are in short supply, but they must be capable of addressing a broad range of issues, not just narrow methodological issues.

Strengths and opportunities in the context

The individual researchers at both Nantes and Tours are clearly hard working and productive within the specific fields they operate in. The researchers at Nantes have an excellent track record at raising research funds. There is evidence of a commitment to interdisciplinary research. The researchers have national and international respect. Some of the researchers are producing cutting-edge research that is at the forefront of the field. There is great potential within both teams if properly oriented towards important societal challenges. The researchers at both Nantes and Tours seem well integrated into the local academic and clinical environment. The Nantes team is deeply committed to training by research. There is a good commitment of the institutions which helped to create several types of position: Maître de Conférence (MCF), promotion of Hospital Practitioner (PH) to University Professor (PU-PH), promotion of MCF to professor, promotion of teaching and research temporary assistant (ATER to MCF), and also helped by providing the access to the BIRD computing centre and as well as a future location in a new research building (IRS2).

Weaknesses and threats in the context

The focus of researchers at Nantes and, to a lesser extent, at Tours is methodological and this presents a somewhat unbalanced profile.

The training opportunities available to PhD students at Nantes are limited in some areas.

The plans presented for the future make slight reference to the new team from Tours. It is not clear how they will contribute to the three proposed 'axes'.

There is a danger of relying on a small number of senior researchers to provide the strategic direction of the Unit. Contingency plans for dealing with the loss of these researchers should be developed.

The reliance on economics research expertise from outside organisations should be addressed in the long term.

It is unclear how the research team might belong to two doctoral schools, which is not generally allowed.

The strategic management of the merged unit on two distant geographic sites may be difficult in the future.

The unit lacks full-time researchers and support staff.

Recommendations

If the unit is to become internationally recognised and appealing to funding agencies and attract students and young researchers, the committee recommends that it focuses on a small number of strategic areas. One possibility is to clearly brand the unit as a centre of excellence for biostatistical research as applied to clinical decision making.

In the future, there should be a greater emphasis on the translation of research into real-world applications, and a repositioning of the unit so that it is capable of performing research that addresses major societal challenges. One way to do this might be to form an external advisory group composed of stakeholders (e.g. funding agencies, health policy makers, industries, patient groups, and healthcare providers) who are interested in using the research of the proposed unit.

Careful consideration of the risks associated with the merger of the Nantes and Tours teams should be undertaken.

The training opportunities available locally to PhD students at Nantes should be expanded, particularly in the fields of health economics and applied biostatistics.

There is a need to further integrate the work carried out by researchers in the different axes, and to assist the integration of researchers in Nantes and Tours into one team.

  The EA 4275 SPHERE (bioStatistics, Pharmaco-epidemiology and Human sciEnces ResEarch) unit is located at the University of Nantes and was created de novo in 2008. It was thereafter renewed in 2012. It brings together researchers from different disciplines: Biostatistics, Psychiatry-Addictology, Pharmacology, Health Psychology and Economics. It aims at developing biostatistical, methodological, and epidemiological expertise in the fields of Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) measures, pharmacological and clinical approaches in pharmaco-dependence and addictive disorders, and prognostic.The unit is member of the "Federative Structure of Research (SFR) Health" François Bonamy -EDF 4203 / UMS 016 Inserm / CNRS 3556, which brings altogether the research laboratories in Nantes working in the field of health, under the tutelage of the University of Nantes, Inserm, CNRS and the Nantes University Hospital.

	Unit name:	methodS in Patient-centered outcomes and HEalth ResEarch
	Unit acronym:	SPHERE
	Label requested:	Inserm
	Current number:	EA 4275
	Name of Director (2015-2016):	Ms Véronique SEBILLE
	Name of Project Leader (2017-2021):	Ms Véronique SEBILLE
	Expert committee members
	Chair:	Mr John BROWNE, University College Cork, Ireland
	Experts:	Mr Paul LANDAIS, Université de Montpellier
		Mr Louis Rachid SALMI, Université de Bordeaux (representative of the INSERM)
		CSS)
	Scientific delegate representing the HCERES:
		Mr Emmanuel LAGARDE
	Representatives of supervising institutions and bodies:
		Mr Frédéric BENHAMOU, Université de Nantes
		Ms Anne-Claire DE REBOUL, CHU de Nantes
		Ms Marianne DESMEDTS, INSERM délégation régionale
		Ms Virginie FERRE, Université de Nantes
		Ms Christine GUILLARD, INSERM
		Mr Olivier LABOUX, Université de Nantes
		Mr Emmanuel LESIGNE, Université François-Rabelais de Tours

Ms Violaine MIZZI, CHU de Tours

Head of Doctoral School:

Ms Corinne MIRAL, Doctoral School n° 502, ED BS "Biologie et Santé" 1  Introduction History and geographical location of the unit

including PhD Theses that should be defended in 2016. Unit record From 01/01/2010 to 30/06/2015

  workforce

	Number as of 30/06/2015 12 1(0.5) 1(0.3) 5 (0.8) 2(0.3)** 13 34 8 Number of Research Supervisor Qualifications (HDR) obtained during the period 2 N1: Permanent professors and similar positions N2: Permanent researchers from Institutions and similar positions N3: Other permanent staff (technicians and administrative personnel) N4: Other professors (Emeritus Professor, on-contract Professor, etc.) N5: Other researchers from Institutions (Emeritus Research Director, Postdoctoral students, visitors, etc.) N6: Other contractual staff (technicians and administrative personnel) N7: PhD students TOTAL N1 to N7 Qualified research supervisors (HDR) or similar positions PhD theses defended Postdoctoral scientists having spent at least 12 months in the unit	Number as of 01/01/2017 17 1* 3(1.0) 9 2

*: University Research Engineer **: University Hospital Study Engineer ***:  Overall assessment of the interdisciplinary unit Introduction

methodS in Patient-centered outcomes and HEalth ResEarch, SPHERE, U Nantes, INSERM, U Tours, Ms Véronique SEBILLE

signed by their chairman.


Evaluation report

This report is the sole result of 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 name:

Protein The unit (initially UMR 6204, now UMR 6286) was created in 2004 at the University of Nantes with the name "Biotechnologie, Biocatalyse et Biorégulation" gathering all the teachers in biochemistry and biology of the university. The unit comprised individual teams located in three different buildings and a common technological platform in molecular interaction and protein array (IMPACT). Following an AERES evaluation in 2011, an effort of reorganization and contraction of the unit was recommended. In 2012, a new management team was in place and the name was changed to "Fonctionnalité et Ingénierie des Protéines" (UFIP). UFIP was created as the CNRS Formation de Recherche en Evolution (FRE) 3478 on January 1 st , 2012 for 2 years. Following a positive evaluation by a CNRS committee, the unit became UMR 6286 on January 1 st , 2014. The unit is now organized into four teams and one platform, around two themes: "Functionality and regulation of proteins" and "Engineering and evolution of proteins". UFIP is also a member of the Federative Research Structure François Bonamy (FED 4203 / UMS 016 INSERM / CNRS 3556) gathering research units in Health and Biology from the University of Nantes and coordinating technological platforms.

The UFIP unit, whose staff is highly involved in teaching biological, biochemical and computational sciences, is located on the Science campus of the University of Nantes, close to the chemistry and computer science departments.

Management team

Director: Mr Charles TELLIER Deputy director: Mr Christophe THIRIET For the next 5-year period, the UFIP unit will be chaired by Mr Bernard OFFMANN succeeding to Mr Charles TELLIER. Mr Bernard OFFMANN will be assisted by Mr Cyrille GRANDJEAN as deputy director.

HCERES nomenclature

SVE1_LS1 Biologie moléculaire, Biologie structurale, Biochimie

ST4 Chimie

Scientific domains

Protein structure/function relationship, protein engineering, post-translational modifications, structural bioinformatics, cellular biochemistry, epigenetics, glyco-chemistry, DNA repair.

Unit workforce

Unit workforce

Number 2  Overall assessment of the unit

Introduction

The unit was founded in 2004 around the so-called 3 Bs, Biotechnology, Biocatalysis and Bioregulation, with a strong emphasis on protein science. Following the AERES evaluation in 2011, the scientific policy evolved to a more focused definition, which is to tackle biological questions that are related to protein function and engineering. Through molecular and cellular approaches, the UFIP unit aims at investigating protein function in relation to their interactions and post-translational modifications, but also at designing and studying engineered proteins that are obtained after mutagenesis. A strong asset of the unit is the complementarity of expertise in chemistry and biology. To reinforce the focusing on protein structure and function, and to further develop multidisciplinarity, the unit increased its in silico expertise by creating in 2012, through staff recruitment, a specific team, the objectives of which are to interact with the other teams but also to develop its own original research approaches in bioinformatics. In another team, experimental embryology research projects were arrested, reducing projects dispersion and focusing research on investigating protein function. Nowadays, UFIP comprises 4 teams and a technical platform gathering shared equipment. Specific grants taken from the unit budget are available for supporting inter-team projects.

The UFIP life is tightly associated with the sciences teaching of the University of Nantes, with 16 university faculties amongst its members, justifying the unit's localization on the Science campus.

Global assessment of the unit

With 4 teams, and a staff around 40-50 permanents and non-permanents, UFIP is a medium sized research entity. Its annual operating budget is around 600 k€. The teams are organized around two axes: "protein engineering and evolution" using computational and molecular approaches (teams 1 and 2) and "protein function and regulation" using mainly cellular approaches (teams 3 and 4). Several research projects developed in the unit are innovative and could lead to important scientific contributions in the future. The balance between basic and applied projects seems adequate.

Since 2011, the UFIP unit has improved its scientific policy, mainly by focusing projects and developing/encouraging intra-unit collaborations. The unit's capacity to recruit talented permanent staff during the past 5 years is an indicator of its national attractiveness. In this regard, the complementarity of expertise in biology, chemistry and bioinformatics is a strong asset. Such a multidisciplinarity contributes to the brand reputation of the unit. This interfacial situation also justifies the size of UFIP and makes it a strategically important and appreciated regional partner. UFIP is acting as a cohesive entity between much bigger neighbouring structures such as the Health Pole and the chemistry department. The unit is also well anchored in the regional socio-economic network, being involved in several training programs of the university and interacting with many industrial and regional partners. Finally, many permanent researchers of UFIP are involved in scientific collaborations both at the national and international level.

Strengths and opportunities in the context

The complementarity of approaches and expertise (biology, chemistry and bioinformatics) is an asset for developing innovative and multidisciplinary research projects. Not being dependant of the Health Pole allows working in specific niches of biological sciences.

Weaknesses and threats in the context

Though the small size of the unit is an asset for developing multidisciplinary approaches (as it facilitates interactions between unit members), it is a threat for its visibility and attractiveness, especially at the international level. Also, the high involvement in teaching and training activities is limiting the research capacity, implying a more critical need to find research niches without too much international competition. The number of PhDs and post-docs is still low. Another limitation lies in the non-involvement of UFIP in European research programs.

Recommendations

The committee recommends that UFIP focus its research on relevant and original biological questions (starting a project only if a high impact is expected), which should improve scientific quality and outputs. Increasing scientific communications within the unit should help in this regard.

The unit should develop strategies for attracting a higher number of talented PhDs and post-doctoral scientists and for joining or initiating H2020 European programs (such as training networks). The unit should also push forward the effort for developing inter-team collaborative projects, especially in the combination of molecular and cellular approaches.

Teams 3 and 4 should try to federate their strengths and knowhow, and try to collaborate for the development of research projects based on clearly identified fundamental biological questions that are not directly related to health issues. In this regard, expanding the use of the very interesting Physarum model system developed by team 4 for addressing questions related to DNA repair (team 3) should be envisioned. Moreover, the spontaneous internalization of exogenous proteins is a Physarum characteristic that can be a unique opportunity for developing innovative projects in chemical biology and which could involve the more "molecular" teams 1 and 2.

The multidisciplinary approach of UFIP is a strength, and in this context, team 3 and 4 are critical since both develop more cellular approaches. However, the unit should make sure that those teams work in the best conditions and give a particular care in acquiring the equipment required for their research (for example a cell sorter).

A more rhythmic or systematic scientific animation is maybe missing (such as a annual UFIP day and/or weekly/monthly seminars by invited guests). Scientific animation may also be improved around a convivial cafeteria.

Importantly, the future deputy head of the unit will take over the direction of the biggest UFIP team. This may be particularly challenging (management of some projects not initiated by the new team leader and not in his field of expertise, international visibility and fund raising). Hence, the unit should be particularly vigilant to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible. In that regard, entrusting him with the additional function of deputy director of the UFIP may not be judicious. Moreover, since the new director will be Mr Bernard OFFMANN, a deputy director from the "cellular" teams may be more appropriate for a good balance of the experimental approaches at the UFIP's head.

An external advisory-support by the CNRS and/or by scientific mentors may be required to reach the objectives of the five-year plan and to improve the international visibility. In accordance with the unit's wish, establishing a scientific advisory board (SAB) is recommended by the committee, although a particular attention to the choice of foreign members will be required.

  Functionality and Engineering

	Unit acronym:	UFIP
	Label requested:	UMR
	Current number:	6286
	Name of Director (2015-2016):	Mr Charles TELLIER
	Name of Project Leader (2017-2021):	Mr Bernard OFFMANN
	Expert committee members
	Chair:	Mr PATRICE SOUMILLION, Institute of Life Sciences, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
	Experts:	Mr Ali HAMICHE, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire,
		Strasbourg
		Ms Gaëlle LEGUBE, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse
		Mr Thierry MAUGARD, Littoral Environnement Sociétés, Université de la Rochelle
		Ms Véronique TREZEGUET, CBMN, Université de Bordeaux (representative of
		CoCNRS)
	Scientific delegate representing the HCERES:
		Mr Pierre COUBLE
	Representatives of supervising institutions and bodies:
		Mr Frédéric BENHAMOU, Université de Nantes

Mr Bruno MIROUX, CNRS

Head of Doctoral School :

Mr Laurent LESCAUDRON, Doctoral school n°502, "Biologie Santé" 1  Introduction History and geographical location of the unit


president Michel Cosnard

Umberto Simeoni

Evaluation report

This report is the sole result of 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 name:

Pathophysiology of Nutritional Adaptations

Management team

Since 2012, the lab has been functioning as a single team unit with Mr Dominique DARMAUN as director and Ms Patricia PARNET as deputy director. The director and deputy director are assisted by a manager who is in charge of the administrative, financial and human resources. A senior scientist helps with the financial management of the UMR.

HCERES nomenclature

SVE1_LS4: Physiology, Pathophysiology, Medical system biology

Scientific domains

Human and animal health Key-words: Pediatrics, hepatogastroenterology, metabolic programming, feeding behaviour, omics 2  Overall assessment of the unit

Unit workforce

Introduction

The general theme of the research conducted at the PhAN Research Unit is developmental programming, and the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), with a particular interest in early nutrition and metabolism.

The current scientific strategy is in line with the previous one, evaluated in the last report (2011).

Global assessment of the unit

The quality of research conducted at the PhAN Research Unit on specific aspects of nutritional and metabolic developmental programming is very good. The PhAN unit is characterized by an excellent and fruitful cooperation between a strong clinical research group and a multidisciplinary team of basic scientists, organized as a unique team. In addition to a strong support from its supervising bodies, this research unit is ideally located within the university hospital.

Strengths and opportunities in the context

The originality of the research theme adopted by the PhAN Unit is one of its major strengths. The array of expertise of its scientists and the wide set of methods and tools, including access to regional and national population cohorts, allow multi-disciplinary, translational and comprehensive approaches to the various research aims. Its location within the university hospital campus is optimal.

Weaknesses and threats in the context

The theme of developmental programming is still insufficiently recognized and not easily readable given its transversal, inter-systems nature and its recent positioning between genomic and environmental influences. The multiple animal models and target organs studied may induce a risk of scientific dispersion and of decreased research performance. This may also explain the still limited funding available to the unit.

The temporary problems in animal housing need a particular action to improve the dedicated technical human resources.

The planned re-location of some structures of the university hospital that are important for the research and the development of the PhAN unit may compromise the current synergies and collegiality between medical doctors and scientists and the cooperation with partner research units.

Recommendations

Given the ambition of the new strategic plan of the research unit, the expert committee recommends to increase the focus and prioritize some of the aims within the planned research axes, to maximize the research performance, the level of publications, the international appeal, and the funding.

Develop international networking and apply to major national and international funding programs, including at the European level (e.g.H2020 program).

The PhAN Unit may develop relationships with other groups working within the country on developmental programming but on complementary models. This has been a recommendation issued by the AlimH scientific committee.

  , Université de Lyon Mr Noël PERETTI, Université de Lyon (representative of CNU) Scientific delegate representing the HCERES: Mr Jean GIRARD Head of Doctoral School: Ms Corinne MIRAL, Doctoral school n°34 "Biologie et Santé" 1  Introduction History and geographical location of the unit UMR 1280 (Physiology of Nutritional Adaptations, PhAN), a joint research unit affiliated with INRA AlimH Department (Department of Human Alimentation, http://www.alimh.INRA.fr/en) and the University of Nantes (http://www.univ-nantes.fr/english), arose in 2006 from the merger of: 1) the former UFDNH (Digestive Functions and Human Nutrition), an INRA laboratory headed by Ms Martine CHAMP, a director of research (DR2) at INRA, which was focused on butyrate, a product of bacterial fermentation and the main fuel of colonic epithelial cells; 2) the group of Mr Dominique DARMAUN, a professor of nutrition with a pediatric background and an attending physician (PU-PH) in charge of the Nutrition Support Team at Nantes University Medical Center (CHU), who had worked on amino acid metabolism as a former DR2 at Inserm; 3) two senior Neuroscientists, Ms Patricia PARNET (DR2 at INRA) who was heading a team working on the action of pro-inflammatory cytokines on the central nervous system at INSERM UMR 394 in Bordeaux, and an INRA scientist from Nantes who worked on gustation; both joined the lab in 2005, another INRA scientist specialized in genetics from Limoges, joined the lab in 2006; and, finally, 4) the team of Mr Jean-Christophe ROZÉ, PU-PH in Pediatrics, who heads the Division of Neonatology at University Medical Center at Nantes.In 2007, PhAN moved from the INRA campus in la Géraudière, a northern district of Nantes, to the medical campus of Nantes CHU, to facilitate its growing translational research. In 2010 and 2012 the UMR PhAN hired 2 new researchers from INRA, with expertise in gut physiology and neurophysiology, respectively). In 2014, PhAN expanded to include 2 professors of nutrition at the University of Nantes who have long-standing expertise on lipoprotein metabolism, with a dual objective: 1) to include the entire faculty in Nutrition teaching at the University of Nantes, and 2) to broaden the expertise on metabolism and atherosclerosis.Locally, the UMR PhAN belongs to the IMAD (Institute for Diseases of Gastrointestinal Tract; http://www.imad-nantes.org/), a federation of several clinical units in gastroenterology, surgery, pediatrics and of 2 research labs (INRA UMR 1280 and INSERM UMR 913). IMAD itself, along with the Thorax Institute, belongs to the DHU 2020 (University Hospital Department), which gathers local clinical-research institutes in the Nantes University Hospital Center (CHU de Nantes, http://www.chu-nantes.fr/about-the-nantes-university-hospital-27982.kjsp). On a regional level, the UMR PhAN was a founding member of CRNH-West (Western Human Nutrition Research Center) formerly CRNH-Nantes, a Public Interest Group (GIP) founded in 1995 and which now gathers 50 scientists involved in human nutrition in various research units in Angers, Nantes, Rennes and Tours (http://www.crnh-ouest.fr/crnh-ouest_eng/).


This report is the sole result of 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 name:

Unité The "Unité de Recherche Risques Microbiens", U2RM EA4655, is part of the Fundamental and Applied Biology Institute (IBFA) located at the Campus 1 of the University of Caen Basse-Normandie. The unit results from the fusion, in January 2012, of the "Laboratoire de Microbiologie de l'Environnement" (EA956, USC INRA 2017) and the research unit "Relations Hôte et Microorganismes des Epithéliums" (EA2128).

Since 2012, the unit, headed by Mr Alain RINCÉ, is structured into three teams interested in physiology, pathology and antibiotic resistance of Enterococci and respiratory viruses. Team E1 "Stress Virulence" corresponds to the former EA956 and is under the scientific supervision of Mr Axel HARTKE. Team E2 "Antibio-résistance" is under the scientific supervision of Mr Vincent CATTOIR and consists of part of the former EA 2128. Team E3 "Virologie Respiratoire Comparée", also out of the former EA 2128, is headed by Ms Astrid VABRET. For the next five-year period Team E3 will leave U2RM and join the unit GRAM 2.0 located at the University of Rouen. Teams E2 and E3 work together on the field of Equine diseases and in close contact with other members of the U2RM working in the Equine diseases research group of the GIP LABEO (Saint Contest). The U2RM teams are located at three different places: Team E1 at the campus 1 of the University of Caen, Team E2 at the site "Côte de Nacre" and Team E3 at the site "G. Clémenceau" of the Caen University Hospital. The unit is one of the partners of the research federation ICORE, giving access to high technology equipments, such as high throughput sequencing or animal facilities.

Management team

Mr Alain RINCÉ is the head of the unit. He will be replaced by his deputy head, Mr Axel HARTKE, for the coming five-year period.

HCERES nomenclature

SVE1_LS6 Immunologie, microbiologie, virologie, parasitologie.

Scientific domains

Microbiology focused on physiology, pathology and antibiotic resistance of Enterococci as well as virology on respiratory viruses.

Unit workforce

Unit workforce

Number Microbiology is the research field of the unit U2RM that includes two bacteriology teams, one interested in bacterial stress and virulence (E1) and the other in antibiotic resistance (E2) of enterococci, and a virology team (E3) specialized in equine and human respiratory viruses. The latter will join the "Groupe de Recherche sur l'Adaptation Microbienne 2.0" located in Rouen for the next contract.

The three teams are clearly visible and recognized at the national level. They have an international reputation as attested by various invitations for conferences, numerous collaborations and memberships in international consortia. The teams E2 and E3 are themselves associated with hospital "CHU" services and in charge of National Reference Centers, which contribute to their recognition and promote access to strains of Enterococci and viruses. Strategically, during this five-year period, team members developed cross-activities and shared skills between the two bacteriology teams (E1 and E2). The unit, as a member of the research federation ICORE, has access to the high throughput sequencing, CURB (animal facilities) and Proteogen (proteomic, genomic and transcirptomic) platforms required in the frame of unit's project.

Global assessment of the unit

The unit displays an intense research activity supported by numerous scientific publications, as well as invitations at national and/or international conferences, organization of international scientific events and participation in European consortia. Moreover the unit has developed numerous industrial partnerships. The unit is strongly involved in teaching at the master level and in doctoral training. The two bacteriology teams are linked through their interest in studying the physiology and pathology of Enterococcus spp. However, a significant number of scientific publications result from a number of lines of research that are beyond the main objectives defined within each team (i.e. most of the publications are not related to either antimicrobial resistance or virulence in Enterococcus spp). The committee therefore highly recommends to reconsider the objectives of this unit according to what unit members describe as really important for the unit scientific strategy. In addition, the unit should move forward its translational research, which would give more visibility. The departure of the head of team E2 and of the entire team E3 lead to the disappearance of projects directly issued from the clinical research that were the support of a large number of publications and the basis for an important part of the unit's academic reputation. This will probably force to reconsider the organization of the unit and redefine the strategic plan.

Strengths and opportunities in the context

The unit displays a high scientific productivity regarding both the quality and the quantity, and the unit director is renowned in the field. The unit has developed high performance scientific technology on site, especially the establishment of high-throughput sequencing, handling and analyzing of big data sets. The unit is involved in National Reference Centers (NRC) (Antibiotic Resistance and Respiratory Viruses) and is closely linked to the hospital giving access to clinical isolates and thus the possibility to develop clinical studies. The unit has developed partnerships with industries giving access to fee-for-service financial resources. The departure of the virology team will focus the scientific strategy of the unit on the enterococci thematic, thus giving the opportunity to the unit members to build a highly efficient team on this topic.

Weaknesses and threats in the context

Collaborations and synergies between the two bacteriology teams are not enough developed. Moreover, the unit research activity appears in some cases unfocused, as many investigators work on objectives that are nonprioritary for the unit. The research activity resulted in too little translational products such as guidelines, clinical recommendations, patents, spin-off. The time-consuming teaching load and the activities in the national reference center and the hospital of most of the scientists precludes reaching high-level science.

Two important threats have been noticed by the committee, first the dramatic lack of funding for the next five-year contract, and second, the departure of one of the bacteriology team leader and as a consequence the loss of the antibiotic resistance topic.

Recommendations

The unit should focus on better defined objectives, and try to implement them in the unit taking into consideration the skills and capabilities of teams E1 and E2. The unit should develop a strategic plan for translational research. This can be achieved in addition to the academic research plan proposed. There are possibilities and resources to reach this objective, by trying (i) to approach pharmaceutical and/or diagnostic companies for funding, not only for "fee-for-services", (ii) to co-develop products and/or tests for the mutual benefit of the lab and the company, which will probably help to get new funds beyond standard research calls. This will depend also on the short-term development of a Translational Research Office at Caen University.

The theme "Enterococcus hirae and response to anti-tumor treatment" seems to have high translational potential. It is important to encourage it.

The unit should try to fit basic academic data within clinical studies in a collaborative manner. The research unit has obtained very interesting findings that were published, but not confirmed in human clinical samples.

The work package on antimicrobial resistance of team E2 will no longer be part of the new strategic plan for the next contract. Thus keeping the original unit structure based on two teams has no longer any meaning. The recommendation from the committee is to merge team E1 and team E2 into one unique team as the issues and topics are quite similar.

  de Recherche Risques Microbiens

	1  Introduction
	History and geographical location of the unit
	Unit acronym:	U2RM
	Label requested:	EA
	Current number:	EA 4655
	Name of Director (2015-2016):	Mr Alain RINCÉ
	Name of Project Leader (2017-2021):	Mr Axel HARTKE
	Expert committee members
	Chair:	Mr German BOU, Hospital Universitario A Coruña, Spain
	Experts:	Mr Gerard BARROSO, University of Bordeaux
		Ms Surbhi MALHOTRA, University of Antwerpen, Belgium
	Scientific delegate representing the HCERES:
		Ms Catherine SCHUSTER
	Representative of supervising institutions and bodies:
		Ms Anne GUESDON, University of Caen
	Head of Doctoral School:
		Mr François DAUPHIN, Doctoral School ED NBISE n°497, "École Doctorale
		Normande Biologie Intégrative, Santé, Environnement"

Number of Research Supervisor Qualifications (HDR) obtained during the period


president Michel Cosnard

Kevin Talbot

 Introduction History and geographical location of the unit

PAnTher is a small joint research unit, located at the Veterinary School of Nantes (ONIRIS), accredited by INRA division Animal Health (SA). In recent years the unit has evolved from a laboratory specialising primarily in veterinary pathology to a research driven enterprise, with a translational medicine focus in neuromuscular diseases. This includes a broader research collaboration in North-Western France in partnership with INSERM UMR 1089 (Nantes) and the Centre of Cell & Gene Therapy (Boisbonne Centre, ONIRIS) to form "Atlantic Gene Therapies" (AGT). To achieve this, the Unit has expanded its range of techniques, and has acquired the full range of functional tests for large animal work, biochemical and molecular techniques, including "omics" and high-resolution microscopy. It has also engaged with a number of important partnerships: EATRIS (European Advanced Translational Research Infrastructure in Medicine), BIOREGATE (Pays de Loire network for regenerative medicine), IBISA (Infrastructures en Biologie Santé et Agronomie), Biogenouest, ECTIS (European Centre for Transplantation and Immunotherapy Sciences -CESTI) and NeurATRIS (Translational research infrastructure for advanced therapies in Neuroscience).

The unit is organized around two activities: research on pathophysiology and translational therapeutics and the APEX platform, which provides a service in molecular pathology and animal phenotyping to the scientific community. Both groups share methodologies and core facilities, hold joint lab meetings and include veterinarians that are specialists in pathology and large animal models.

Management team

The INRA UMR 703 management committee consists of a head of unit (Ms Marie-Anne COLLE) and a deputy head of unit (Mr Karl ROUGER).

HCERES nomenclature

SVE1_LS4 Physiologie, physiopathologie, biologie systémique médicale

Scientific domains

Cell and gene therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and gene therapy of the nervous system.

Unit workforce

Unit workforce

Number 2  Overall assessment of the unit

Introduction

PAnTher is a small joint INRA and ONIRIS research unit organized and run as a single research team. The PAnTher activities principally involve research, but also include important diagnostic, teaching and translational activities. PAnTher aims to develop therapeutic approaches for several hereditary diseases of muscle and central nervous system along two axes 1) Biotherapy, focusing on cell and gene therapy for DMD, Pompe disease and SMA; 2) Pathophysiology, with the aim to improving the understanding of the mechanistic basis of disease using animal models. The studies of the unit are based on integrated approaches from gene to animal such as functional tests, biochemical and molecular techniques. A major advantage is the variety of technical approaches afforded by the presence of the APEX (Anatomic Pathology Expertise for Research) platform, dedicated to pathology and phenotyping as a service.

PanTher works in a very competitive environment, namely the development of cellular and genetic therapies for inherited neuromuscular diseases, in which France is one of the international leaders. It benefits from a comprehensive animal model approach encompassing rodents to Non-Human Primates (NHPs); this is a definite strength, sought by partners, and should be exploited for maximum benefit. In this context, (i) the demonstration of effective delivery of viral vectors through the CerebroSpinal Fluid (CSF) in NHPs and (ii) the correction of the Duchenne phenotype of the Golden retriever dog model by canine MuStem cells are significant preclinical achievements that showcase what PAnTher can offer in this field.

Global assessment of the unit

Given the size of the unit and the number of scientists, the level of scientific production is excellent with publications in very good scientific journals in the field. The development of the APEX platform is a major strength and plays a key role in the global research activity of the unit. The unit has demonstrated a significant level of success in obtaining funding, particularly at the national level. However, it is noted that PAnTher is not currently involved in European or other international projects. Non-permanent staff including students, post-doctoral scientists as well as technicians and engineers hired on fixed-term contracts are a critical part of the research team. There is a temporal trend towards an increase in the number of non-permanent staff that is evidence of the team's positive academic reputation and ability to attract high quality researchers. A key challenge for the unit is how to successfully manage the transition from a dedicated service unit to one engaged in primary research. The assessment panel recommend that the management team consider their internal research strategy in the context of other French groups working on similar projects, especially taking into account the overall AFM (Association Française contre les Myopathies) strategy for biotherapy of neuromuscular diseases. This will serve to help position their projects in the space where they are maximally competitive. In particular, translation of biotherapeutics into clinical trials is very challenging and requires considerable resources to overcome regulatory and logistical hurdles and cannot be achieved without the framework of bodies such as AFM. The panel further recommends the strengthening of the APEX platform and its involvement in animal diagnostic activities aligned with the core interests of ONIRIS and INRA.

Strengths and opportunities in the context

The unit clearly has an excellent reputation within its own institutional environment and is viewed as one of the leading laboratories in ONIRIS. The director has the strong support of the head of ONIRIS and this support is given both in recognition of the importance of APEX, but also because of the quality of the scientific research in the unit. This has been acknowledged by making the head of unit (Ms Marie-Anne COLLE) director of research for ONIRIS.

PAnTher is a resource of national significance, which is obviously highly valued by INRA because of the concentration of large animal expertise. This expertise underpins both the service provided by APEX and the training of veterinarians, which is a critical function of ONIRIS of economic importance to the nation.

The strength of PAnTher is the convergence of a significant number of well-trained technical/scientific personnel with a strong background in veterinary pathology, combined with molecular scientists focussed on human disease all working to develop therapeutic approaches using animal models. This creates an unusually high level of synergy.

The PAnTher unit is well integrated into several networks within France, chiefly Atlantic Gene Therapies, but also EATRIS, BIOREGATE, IBISA, Biogenouest, ECTIS and NeurATRIS. This mitigates its small size and allows its access to external expertise and collaborations.

The full ISO 9001 certification is a major asset, which is both a testament to the excellence of the unit but also facilitates the generation of income through external service work.

The APEX technical platform is another major strength of PAnTher. This platform is dedicated to the investigation of healthy and diseased animal tissues and represents an important concentration of diagnostic tools, which make the unit an attractive place for training.

The track record of PAnTher to raise national funds is excellent and the funding portfolio has diversified significantly in the last 5 years.

The unit culture is strong with good synergy between the different themes and between researchers and technicians. There is close hands on supervision by PIs. Modern omics and other technologies are available. All of this has improved in the last 5 years, during which time there has been an impressive consolidation of techniques and research activities.

The opportunity to build on existing PAnTher expertise for the exploration of novel therapeutic avenues and to expand the animal diagnostic activities of PanTher.

Weaknesses and threats in the context

PAnTher is a small unit. Despite its internal and external links, this makes it vulnerable, particularly when most of the work is in the ultra-competitive field of biological therapies.

There is a lack of space in which to expand the unit's research activities.

Although there are numerous external collaborative projects, PAnTher does not appear to have many highly developed internal collaborations within ONIRIS. The assessment panel formed the view that one contributing factor was the lack of a culture of collaboration in ONIRIS. The new head of ONIRIS clearly intends to prioritise the development of a more coherent research strategy, with PAnTher very much an integrated part. This should develop into an opportunity for PanTher.

Work on human diseases in PAnTher may be incongruent with the interests of the key stakeholders, INRA and ONIRIS, who by definition are constituted to improve and maintain animal, rather than human, health. This may be a factor that creates a barrier to the necessary expansion of personnel.

The impact factor of published papers resulting from work within the unit is currently in need of improvement. Selected outputs should be targeted to higher impact factor journals. The panel questioned whether the strategy for targeting research journals is correct.

The assessment panel was concerned that the investigators may underestimate the challenges in taking their discoveries as far as clinical trials. There is a lack of overall translational infrastructure at present and it would be important to strengthen clinical links that facilitate first-in-man studies.

The research in the unit is primarily technically led and focussed on solving problems of biological therapy delivery. This does not allow hypothesis driven research to produce genuinely novel insights into disease mechanisms. However, this is a minor criticism because a drive towards more mechanistic research would run the risk of reducing the focus on areas where the team is strongest.

The research programs are in highly competitive areas and are vulnerable to failure if other larger groups deliver effective therapeutic approaches that make those in this unit redundant (e.g., AAV-mediated therapies for SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) developed elsewhere are close to the clinic at present). There is currently a lack of a clear mitigation strategy to deal with this possibility.

Recommendations

In recent years the unit has developed numerous and fruitful collaborations and obtained substantial grant funding. However, it is critical that the acquisition of future external funding is consistent with the strategy for internal research development within the unit.

There should be a consolidation of a critical mass of internal research in order to generate publications with increased impact factors and an increase in papers which are led from the unit, with one of the PIs as senior author, rather than contributions as middle author through collaborations.

The field of gene and molecular therapeutics is highly competitive. Therefore a concerted effort should be made to promote international collaboration. European networks funded by Horizon 2020 and E-Rare offer a good opportunity for bringing the unique skillset of PAnTher to a wider audience. An increase in visibility will help achieve stronger publications with higher impact and also promote collaboration.

The unit needs to expand the number of researchers in order to reduce its vulnerability. There is a lack of middle grade researchers (at post-doctoral level). This is a missed opportunity for the scientific community, given the outstanding training opportunities available at PAnTher. This could be approached by more aggressive exploration of other sources of funding, European and national. The legacy of being a service unit may be an inhibitory influence that must be overcome in seeking external project grant funding, which could facilitate the recruitment of more postdocs. Outstanding postdoctoral candidates may also be holders of personal fellowships.

The management team must work to limit any further divergence between their own research strategy and the agendas of ONIRIS and INRA. This requires open discussion and close liaison with the head of ONIRIS in particular. APEX activity could be increased to generate income and strengthen their position within ONIRIS and INRA. They should consider expanding their service to more diagnostic work, which would generate income that could be used to fund research positions.

on 30/06/2015

			Number on
			01/01/2017
	N1: Permanent professors and similar positions	3	5
	N2: Permanent researchers from Institutions and similar positions	1	1
	N3: Other permanent staff (technicians and administrative personnel)	7	7
	N4: Other professors (Emeritus Professor, on-contract Professor, etc.)
	N5: Other researchers from Institutions (Emeritus Research Director, Postdoctoral students, visitors, etc.)	2
	N6: Other contractual staff (technicians and administrative personnel)	5
	N7: PhD students	4

TOTAL N1 to N7 22 Qualified research supervisors (HDR) or similar positions 3 Unit record From 01/01/2010 to 30/06/2015

	PhD theses defended	3
	Postdoctoral scientists having spent at least 12 months in the unit	2
	Number of Research Supervisor Qualifications (HDR) obtained during the period	1


president Michel Cosnard

Evaluation report

This report is the sole result of 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.

Management team

The director of the laboratory is Ms. Marie Pascale PRUD'HOMME, assisted by a deputy director, Mr. Philippe LAÎNÉ (associate professor). The laboratory includes 3 teams: Influx (head: Mr. Philippe ETIENNE); C-defoliation (head: Ms Annette MORVAN-BERTRAND); Grassland Ecology (head: Mr. Jean-Bernard ClIQUET). These teams share 4 technical platforms: Plant Resources and physical measurements; Analytical platform, Isotopic Mass spectrometry, Molecular biology and proteomics.

HCERES nomenclature

Subdomain: SVE2

Main scientific subdomain : SVE2_LS9 Secondary subdomain : SVE2_LS8

Scientific domains

The research project addresses the physiology and ecophysiology of cultivated and grassland plant species at various scales and with various scientific and methodological approaches:

Introduction

The research activities developed by three research teams focus on nitrogen and sulfur fluxes (Team E1; "INFlux"), on fructan metabolism and accumulation in grasses (Team E2; "C-Defoliation") and on the performance of grassland ecosystems (E3; "Grassland Ecology"). Abiotic stresses are considered in the various projects, especially in the context of global change. The approaches are relevant, some of them original, and based on suitable experimental techniques. The use of stable isotopes is powerful for such investigations. Mass spectrometry and HR ICP-MS allow a deeper insight into the uptake, assimilation and transport of mineral nutrients (especially nitrogen and sulphur) as well as of CO 2 assimilation products. The quality of the products can also be addressed with these techniques.

Unit record

From 01/01/2010 to 30/06/2015

PhD theses defended 9

Postdoctoral scientists having spent at least 12 months in the unit 3

Number of Research Supervisor Qualifications (HDR) obtained during the period

Global assessment of the unit

The unit is well managed. Research in the three teams is complementary and addresses highly important aspects in the context of plant productivity and stress responses. Responses to abiotic stresses related to global change (e.g. drought, heat) are considered. The research topics include nitrogen and sulphur acquisition (especially in Brassicaceae), interactions between these two elements, carbon dynamics in grasses (especially fructan metabolism in forage grasses) and the performance of grasslands (especially under abiotic stress conditions). The unit has a strong scientific potential, and unit members have complementary skills, from ecophysiology to isotope labelling through plant physiology. The methods used are state of the art. The research focus and the analytical techniques evolved positively during the past five years. Numerous PhD and Master students were supervised. The results were published in a large number of papers in peer-reviewed international journals, and were well received by the community. Some articles were written for a broader readership and, together with oral presentations, provided a basis for interactions with stakeholders. The three teams present interesting plans for the next period, but they probably need to be more focused and interactive. In some instances, more risky projects might also have been envisaged (e.g. more detailed studies of metabolic regulation mechanisms, including gene expression, or of interactions between organs with stable isotopes). The size of the three teams is quite unequal, but their scopes are scientifically sound. More intense interactions between these teams and also with research group abroad could help to enhance the international visibility of this unit with high standards.

Strengths and opportunities in the context

Research of the three teams in the unit is complementary and covers highly relevant aspects of plant physiology and ecology. Especially, the consideration of altered environmental parameters as a consequence of global change is timely and of practical relevance for stakeholders. The progress made during the past five years is very good.

Results from research during the past five years were published in a good series of papers in international journals. The journals for the publication of the findings were well chosen and are highly ranked in this research domain. The numbers of citations of these papers clearly indicate that the work of the unit is well appreciated by the international scientific community. The approaches and methods used are state of the art. Furthermore, there was a suitable adaptation and extension of the methods initiated during the years 2010 -2015 (e.g. expression of chloroplast proteins, long-distance translocation of heavy metals, characterization of a sucrose : fructan 6-fructosyltransferase and of sucrose transporters). The use of functional genomics may allow the unit to investigate the regulatory mechanisms and identify their molecular bases.

Weaknesses and threats in the context

The unit contains three teams with unequal numbers of scientists and, as a consequence, also with unequal outputs. This may represent a challenge for interactions between the teams. The international visibility of the unit might be improved (especially with respect to participation and leadership in international research programs and involvement in editorial work). This weakness, which might be in part explained by the relative isolation of the unit, results in a low international attractiveness.

Recommendations

More intense interactions with research groups in other countries in Europe and in other continents are desirable, since this would allow to making even better use of the scientific potential present in this unit and help to improve international visibility. Investigations based on more interactions between the three teams could be beneficial for the unit and help to make optimal use of the high scientific potential in research as well as in teaching.

A stronger commitment towards functional genomics and molecular physiology may also improve the attractiveness of the research unit.

Abiotic stress phases and the subsequent recovery phases are important for the overall performance of annual crops and of pastures. The unit has a good basis to address such aspects and may envisage studying them with respect to limiting nutrients and/or abiotic stresses such as drought or elevated temperature.

  Mr Urs FELLER, Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland Experts : Ms Catherine ROUMET, Center of Functional and Evolutive Ecology Mr Bruno TOURAINE, University of Montpellier (representative of the CNU) Scientific delegate representing the HCERES : Mr. Serge DELROT Representatives of supervising institutions and bodies: Mr. Guy RICHARD, INRA Mr. Pierre SINEUX, University of Caen Basse-Normandie Head of Doctoral School : M. Patrice LEROUGE, Doctoral school n°497, « École Doctorale Normande Biologie Intégrative, Santé, Environnement » 1  Introduction History and geographical location of the unit The EVA unit (Ecophysiologie Végétale, Agronomie & nutritions NCS, Plant Ecophysiology, Agronomy and NCS Nutrition) is a Mixed Research Unit (UMR) under the double supervision of the University of Caen Basse-Normandie (UCBN) and of the INRA Environment Agronomy Division. It is located in campus N° 1 of the University of Caen Basse-Normandie. It was created in association with the INRA in 1992. It was initially a UA (Associated Unit), renewed in 1996, and then it was labelled an UMR in 2000, later renewed in 2003, 2007 and 2012. The unit hosts 15 UCBN lecturers-researchers with various skills in plant science (ecology, physiology, agronomy, biochemistry, molecular biology), plus an INRA researcher in ecophysiology and modelling since 2010. Technical support is provided by 5 INRA ITA staff members and 6 UCBN BIATSS staff members.

expert committee". (Article 11, paragraph 2Other permanent staff (technicians and administrative personnel) 9 [8.8} 7 [6.6] N4: Other professors (Emeritus Professor, on-contract Professor, etc.Other researchers (DREM, post-docs) N6: Other contractual staff (technicians and administrative personnel) Qualified research supervisors (HDR) or similar positions