The research unit was created in 1947 but the "modern era" started with the realization of the first accelerated heavy ion beam of GANIL in the 80's. At that time all the members of the research unit gathered in a unique activity, "Nuclear Dynamics and Thermodynamics", aiming at the development of an ambitious program based on the construction and operation of large detectors (first Nautilus and later INDRA placed in dedicated experimental areas in GANIL) for the detection of light and heavy fragment nuclei. The primary goal was the study of the collision of heavy ions focusing on the dynamics and thermodynamics of nuclei. Later in the 90's the new groups of "Nuclear Structure", "Theoretical and Phenomenological Physics", "Electronuclear Cycle" and "Fundamental interactions and the nature of the Neutrinos" were created. More recently, around 2005, the laboratory has opened a research line dedicated to applications of nuclear technologies with the creation of a unit dedicated to "Medical and industrial applications". The laboratory is located in Caen, hosted by the "École Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Caen" (ENSICAEN), principal regulatory authority together with the University of Caen -Normandie (UNICAEN). The two institutions are now members of the community of establishments of Basse and Haute Normandie, so-called "Normandie Université". The other supervising institution is CNRS/IN2P3.

Management team

Mr Dominique DURAND -director of LPC Caen.

Mr Rémi BOUGAULT -deputy director.

Ms Aurélie GONTIER -administrator.

HCERES nomenclature

Domaine scientifique principal: ST -ST2 -Physique.

Domaines applicatifs:

P : Énergie nucléaire. S : Santé humaine et animale.

Scientific domains

Today the scientific domains of LPC Caen can be categorized into three main themes:

1. the structure and the dynamical and thermodynamical properties of the atomic nucleus investigated through nuclear reactions;

2. the study, in low energy processes, of fundamental interactions (mainly weak interaction at the nuclear level) between quarks and leptons with the aim to search for deviations/extensions of the standard model;

3. applications of Nuclear Technology in the medical, industrial and energy domains.

These three themes are the objectives of the six research teams of the laboratory:

1. Medical and Industrial Applications; The scientific strategy of the research unit is based on applied and fundamental research, operated at local level (partnership in all local projects based on nuclear science) and at national level (partnership in major projects of IN2P3). The link with the socio-economical tissue is performed through collaboration contracts with local and national industries, in particular for what concerns the application of nuclear methods to medicine.

At the local level (on site) the research unit is strongly involved in providing support to the national projects realized in GANIL (SPIRAL1, SPIRAL2). Resources are also provided to the project of excellence DESIR aiming at the use of the radioactive beams of SPIRAL1 at low energy, and those produced by SPIRAL2 after separation in S3. Other activities are the construction of an RFQ for the high-resolution spectrometer of DESIR and the ANR REGLIS3 for extracting the radioactive ions from S3 in SPIRAL2. In the near future the research unit will be strongly involved in the ARCHADE and PMRT projects, combining competences of physics and radiobiology, and in REC-HADRON and FRANCE-HADRON, focusing on instrumentation for radiobiology and building a network of laboratories for providing beams for hadron-therapy. LPC Caen is also strongly involved in a network of industries with local implantation like AREVA or EDF. Together with ENSICAEN, collaborations have been developed focusing on interdisciplinary activity.

At national and international levels (off site) the laboratory is involved in collaborations with programs financed by France or by the European Community. Examples are the INDRA-FAZIA program, aiming at the construction of a novel type of detector for heavy ions, the "EXPAND" program at RIKEN (Japan), an experimental program for nuclear reactions with exotic nuclei, the nEDM program at PSI (Switzerland) for the measurement of the electric dipole moment of the neutron, and the SuperNEMO (demonstrator) at LSM Modane and the SoLiD programmes at the BR2 reactor in Mol (Belgium) for investigating the nature of the neutrino. In all these activities the laboratory is collaborating with other groups of IN2P3 and with national and international institutions often assuming direct responsibilities for part of the realization and in some cases playing a leading role in guiding the collaboration. For the basic research, the laboratory is supporting the national projects realized in GANIL (SPIRAL1, SPIRAL2 or connected to those facilities like DESIR). LPC Caen is involved in international collaborations with programs financed by France or by the European Community. Examples are for basic nuclear physics the construction of the FAZIA multidetector array, a novel type of detector for heavy ions allowing isotopic identification and the experimental program for nuclear reactions at RIKEN performed under the contract "EXPAND" and aiming at nuclear structure studies, for fundamental interaction studies the nEDM at PSI for the measurement of the electric dipole moment of the neutron, SuperNEMO (LSM Modane) or SoLiD at the BR2 reactor in Mol (Belgium), investigating the nature of the neutrino and the LPC Trap activity for the measurement of the neutrino-ion angular correlation for Vud determination. Concerning applications, there is a strong involvement in the nuclear data using the NFS facility at SPIRAL2 or in the ARACHADE and PMRT projects, combining competences of physics and radiobiology, and in REC-HADRON and FRANCE-HADRON, focusing on instrumentation for radiobiology and building a network of laboratories for providing beams for hadron-therapy. LPC Caen is also connected to a network of local/national industries like AREVA or EDF and is doing research on accelerator driven systems (ADS) in collaboration both with LPSC (Grenoble) and SCK/CEN (Mol, Belgium). Since the last report new opportunities have arisen as for example SoLiD, Expand and SuperNEMO.

Unit workforce

Global assessment of the unit

LPC Caen is very well known in its areas of research. Its nuclear, fundamental physics and applied physics staff members are well recognized in the international community and valuable partners at major facilities worldwide. The research unit is outstanding with an excellent track record in scientific accomplishments: the publications are numerous and of high quality and the large number of invitations to international conferences and schools speaks for a high international standing. The staff have been involved in the organization of many conferences and schools, often with leading roles. The research teams have been involved in designing, constructing and exploiting major state-ofthe-art equipment at regional, national and international facilities. The technical services have been contributing to the developments of instrumentation used in the previously mentioned facilities. The number of participations in national and international projects, awards and academic contracts is high as well as the number of supervised PhD students, again attesting to LPC Caen excellence in research and training.

The scientific activity of the laboratory shows a strong dynamism and a high-level production in all the tasks undertaken, together with an excellent international outlook.

Strengths and opportunities in the context

The scientific teams have outstanding staff that are actively involved in cutting-edge research at the most important regional, national and international research infrastructures. LPC Caen is on the average very productive scientifically as can be deduced from the number of publications in refereed journals and proceedings as well as from their quality (publications in high-impact journals). The combination of fundamental and applied physics towards addressing important societal problems such as health and energy is among the LPC Caen strengths. The LPC Caen teams have strong networks and operate in national and international collaborations. Also the number of collaborations with industries is high. These collaborations are based not only on contributions to the scientific programmes but also on technical developments allowing a larger impact on those programmes. The age pyramid of the staff is rather favorable and the researchers have a high reactivity in participating in national competitions. LPC Caen has developed an interesting strategy for increasing the attractiveness of the laboratory for PhD students dedicating particular care to their needs. The ability to work together with GANIL and with other laboratories in the Caen area is a strong opportunity for LPC Caen to play a major role in main scientific infrastructures like SPIRAL1 and SPIRAL2 and in the near future ARCHADE.

Weaknesses and threats in the context

The fact that LPC Caen is active in many topics is also a weakness, in particular since the financial resources are dwindling, and some topics of research may become less visible (one example could be the Nuclear Dynamics and Thermodynamics in case the FAZIA project is not completed). For some teams the number of technical projects is already too large for the number of people who have to plan and execute them. The human resources have a stable profile but the generalized absence of promotions and the large delay of major projects could lead to a certain disengagement of the staff. Insufficient efforts are made to obtain grants for postdoctoral researchers. Also the close collaboration with the GANIL laboratory, which offers many opportunities, can cause a reduced visibility of the laboratory which seen from afar may not show a specific identity. A weakness is also the inadequacy of the infrastructure to host new large instrumentation or new collaborating groups. A threat for LPC Caen is the evolution of the budget. The dwindling financial resources allocated by the supervising institutions induce an increased reliance on contractual funding which can put a number of excellent scientific programmes and technical projects in jeopardy. Also the delay of SPIRAL2 phase 2 is a big threat since part of the future programmes are based on this facility. In view of this delay, the related instrumentation to enlarge the scientific program may not be funded and part of the staff could disengage from this significant project. The medical application activities are very dependent on the timely advancement of the ARCHADE project. Also the long-term future of the ADS activity will rely on the approval of the MYRRHA project. Finally, due to the high fragmentation of the research activities, together with the large involvement of the staff members in research and teaching, there is a lack of scientific animation of the laboratory.

Recommendations

The laboratory, within ENSICAEN, should try to increase the available space with the creation of dedicated areas. This should allow to have a proper technical workshop as well as rooms for hosting and testing new instrumentation. The research unit should actively pursue the opportunities offered by the relocation of some ENSICAEN laboratories.

To cope with the dwindling financial resources, the laboratory should try to increase its own resources by increasing the participation to national and international calls for projects. The availability of new areas to host large instrumentation will be a prerequisite to increase the number of industrial partnerships which could bring additional resources.

The scientific animation of the laboratory should also be improved through the organisation of seminars and lectures. This could also facilitate the synergy among different research teams.

The close collaboration with the GANIL laboratory in many projects can sometimes overshadow the contribution of the laboratory members. A clear identification and better presentation of the mutual responsibilities within the projects could enhance the visibility of the laboratory. A modernization of the web page of the laboratory is advised.

The LPC director is encouraged to impress upon the groups the importance of increasing the number of requests of postdocs and visitors grants. It would also be helpful to provide more information to PhD students concerning the job opportunities after their thesis. The director is also encouraged to pay attention that all staff members get equal opportunity for training and continuing education.

The expert committee noted a strong gender imbalance, in particular among technical staff. The importance of gender balance should be kept in mind when hiring new staff members.

Qualified research supervisors (HDR) or similar positions Unit record From 01/01/2010 to 30/06/2015

  Overall assessment of the unit Introduction LPC Caen is an important unit of the IN2P3 with dedicated programs in nuclear structure and reactions, nuclear theory, fundamental interactions and medical and industrial applications, and nuclear data and reactor physics. The scientific strategy is based on fundamental research and applied research at the local and global levels.

	PhD theses defended		18
	Postdoctoral scientists having spent at least 12 months in the unit		2
	Number of Research Supervisor Qualifications (HDR) obtained during the period	6 (*)
	(*) These numbers include one HDR obtained in July 2015.
	2 
	Unit workforce	Number on 30/06/2015	Number on 01/01/2017
	N1: Permanent professors and similar positions	17	17
	N2: Permanent researchers from Institutions and similar positions	13	13
	N3: Other permanent staff (technicians and administrative personnel)	36	36
	N4: Other professors (Emeritus Professor, on-contract Professor, etc.)	1
	N5: Other researchers from Institutions (Emeritus Research Director, Postdoctoral students, visitors, etc.)	1
	N6: Other contractual staff (technicians and administrative personnel)
	N7: PhD students	12
	TOTAL N1 to N7	80


Jacques Martino

Report 1  Introduction

The visit of the review Committee took place on the 3rd and 4th of November in the premises of the LPC. An abundant information on the organization, the resources and the scientific output of the laboratory, as well as on the future perspectives, was delivered to the Committee. The latter acknowledges the nice presentations made by the Director of the laboratory and by the members of the different teams. These presentations conveyed the impression of a dynamic and well-balanced laboratory. The interviews with the different groups of the laboratory have been very fruitful, giving a clear view on the working conditions of these groups.

The Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire de Caen (LPC) is a "unité mixte de recherche", jointly operated by the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Caen (ENSICAEN), the Université de Caen Basse-Normandie (UCBN) and the Institut de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules (IN2P3) du CNRS. This organization scheme generates a well-balanced activity corresponding basically to three different tasks: high-level formation and training of young researchers, the performance of ambitious research programs both on fundamental and applied physics and a diversified array of actions aiming at the dissemination of scientific knowledge. The proximity of the GANIL has allowed a fruitful interaction between the two laboratories. The physicists of the LPC have exploited the beams, instruments and other facilities offered by the GANIL. Reciprocally, the latter has benefited from the collaboration of the LPC, especially under the form of R&D, for the development of several instruments. Presently, a group of the LPC, involving physicists and technical staff, is actively participating in the SPIRAL2 project.

The LPC research activity pertains to three domains: (1) nuclear physics (2) fundamental interactions and (3) interdisciplinary research based on applications of nuclear physics with societal aspects. On the other hand, this activity is spread on six teams (details are given in the part devoted to the various teams).

The other scientific activities involve teaching and dissemination of scientific knowledge. The LPC contains a large component of "enseignants-chercheurs" (18), who assume heavy teaching duties at ENSICAEN and UCBN. As for the third task mentioned above, a particular effort is made concerning research training, hosting trainees, organizing visits, exhibitions and seminars for public at large. The management team is composed of the Director and the newly appointed "Directeur adjoint". For scientific matters, they are helped by a "Conseil de Laboratoire" and an (external) "Conseil Scientifique".

Here follows the distribution of the Staff members (on the basis of the application file submitted to the AERES). 2  Overall appreciations on the research unit

• Summary :

The scientific activity of the LPC is characterized by a strong dynamism and a high-level production in the three tasks assigned to it. The LPC participates to high level formation, conducts ambitious research programs with high quality outputs and is engaged in vigorous actions for dissemination of knowledge and support to community at large. The laboratory has established strong links, with reciprocal benefits, with the GANIL and other facilities in its scientific environment. It is very active in the popularization of research among the high-school network and the public at large. The research activity is cutting edge and deals with current and important issues fitting to the priorities of the IN2P3 and European and American long-range plans. It is very productive and diversified, implying experimental as well as theoretical aspects. Fundamental and applied physics issues are addressed, in roughly a three to one ratio. The various teams participate to international collaborations in which they usually take a prominent part. The laboratory has among its staff a few personalities who have a high visibility in the international nuclear physics community.

The laboratory has established a very good articulation between research teams and highly-skilled technical and administrative staff, which turns out to be very beneficial to the research activity. The working budget is provided by the operating institutions, for about 80% at present. The rest corresponds to the own resources, coming from contracts with Région Basse-Normandie, ANR, EU and others.

• Strengths and opportunities :

Many strong points can be identified. As already stated, the research programs fit the priorities of the operating institutions and are in line with those of the scientific environment, especially the GANIL. The variety of the research themes, a rather unique feature of the LPC, constitutes a richness, to be preserved as far as possible. The somehow flexible structure of the LPC has allowed exchanges and temporary collaborations between the teams. There is a good equilibrium between fundamental and applied research. The scientific production in terms of papers and PhD theses is excellent, with many key articles in high-impact journals.

One can single out important opportunities. The high scientific level of the research performed has allowed participation with a good visibility to large scale collaborations and the access to large facilities (Modane, PSI, SCK-CEN, etc). The laboratory has succeeded to establish strong links with the laboratories in its direct vicinity (GANIL, Cyceron). It is strongly implied in important projects in this environment, namely the SPIRAL2 and the Archade projects. It benefits from recurrent budgets. The level of own resources may look satisfactory, but has decreased in the recent years. The research activity can take advantage of the support of a performing technical-administrative staff, which shows a great flexibility in response of the needs. Finally, it attracts many PhD students and the average age of the permanent staff is rather low.

• Weaknesses and threats :

Paradoxically, the main weakness of the laboratory comes from one of its strong points, namely the diversity of its research teams and programs. Apparently, this has led to a lack of scientific life in the laboratory. Equally important, due to their year after year slightly decreasing resources, some teams can be considered as below the critical mass.

Let us notice also the fact that budgets have to be applied for on a year-by-year basis, which hampers a flexible planning of expenditures, the relatively too low level of human resources and the uneasy planning of the careers for some groups of the personnel, due to different status of the employees.

A recurrent weak point is the very low number of post-docs, a surprising feature for a laboratory which carries high level research programs with reduced teams.

Another specific weak point has appeared from the visit, in particular from the discussion with the representatives of the operating institutions. There is a lack of identity of the LPC arising from the proximity of and the strong links with the GANIL. It seems that the staff of the LPC is often taken as belonging to the GANIL, in spite of its specific activity.

The Committee has identified some worrisome risks. The first one concerns the financing of the LPC which, regarding some sources, is not guaranteed. This, of course, applies, mainly but not only, to the own resources, which have decreased in the last two years. The second one is linked to the fact that the LPC has a few toplevel physicists with strong reputation, who might be interested by offers from prestigious laboratories.

• Recommendations :

The recommendations echo the points discussed above. The LPC should seriously think over an optimization of the teams (the Committee acknowledges the fact that this work has already started). More specifically, the Committee recommends the setting up of a common strategy for the teams "Aval du cycle" and "Applications médicales", followed by the merging of the two teams. The reinforcement of the combined team by a new scientist, CR or equivalent, is highly recommended and the Direction is invited to work actively to this goal.

The scientific animation of the laboratory should receive a high priority. The ways to improve this situation are rather well known, but the results are generally obtained after a long time only. Another priority would be the definition of a strategy for enhancing the attractiveness of the laboratory for the key persons alluded above. Along the same lines, an effort for increasing the number of post-docs would be beneficial.

Regarding the financing, the laboratory should try to increase its own resources by applying to various agencies and calls for projects, in particular to the ANR calls. The laboratory should deploy a more willful policy in this respect. The Committee has had the impression that members of the LPC are underestimating their chances of succeeding, arguing of the limited size of the laboratory, where, instead, they can capitalize on their excellence.

Finally, the problem of the identity of the LPC, due to the vicinity of the GANIL, can be solved by a vigorous campaign of communication in the nuclear physics community at large. The LPC should be more active in organizing workshops and/or conferences. This would also enhance the scientific animation of the laboratory. 3  Specific comments

• Appreciation on the results

The research of the LPC deals with high level and up to date topics, which are also fitting the priorities of the IN2P3 and European and North American long range plans. The applied physics research topics are among the priorities of France for energy and health policies. Most of the time, the various teams tackle the problems with original methodologies. The quality of the results is cutting edge and has had an important impact on the development of nuclear physics (halo nuclei, variation of the shell closure properties, multifragmentation, liquid-gas phase transition, neutron star physics), on the understanding of some aspects of fundamental interactions (nature of the neutrino, double beta decay, electric dipole moment of the neutron, search for new currents in weak interactions) and on specific applications of nuclear physics and nuclear instrumentation in the field of nuclear energy (aspects of transmutation of nuclear waste and of fast neutron reactors) and radiotherapy (dosimetry, beam monitoring, measurements for hadrontherapy). The research project, based on the accumulated skill and experience of the laboratory as well as on a lucid analysis of the trends in nuclear physics and its applications, is warranting the continuation of a high quality research in the future years.

It is also worth to mention that the laboratory produces sophisticated R&D work for more generic needs than those of the individual teams and for existing or future instruments, such as for the DESIR room at SPIRAL2. The quality of the results is testified by the high number and high quality of publications, with a remarkable score for publications in high-level journals, like Physical Review Letters and Physics Letters. It is also attested by the large number of communications at international conferences. The number of PhD theses presented during the period 2006-2010 is remarkable for the size of the laboratory.

In spite of its relatively small size, the LPC is engaged in important and solid international collaborations with, most of the time, a very good visibility of its teams.

• Appreciation on the impact, the attractiveness of the research unit and of the quality of its links with international, national and local partners Several staff members have been distinguished by receiving prestigious awards (médaille d'argent du CNRS, prix Joliot-Curie), by being invited to give key talks at important international conferences and by being invited to organize conferences and other scientific events.

The LPC occupies an attractive position in the European nuclear physics landscape. It has hired high level scientists from abroad in the past and uses to attract very good PhD students from the neighboring institutions as well as from outside. It has proved to be able to raise competitive funds (although these have somehow declined in the last two years), to be prompt to join international networks and solid national and international collaborations, and to search for foreign partners for running experiments. As for the applied physics side, the LPC has been able to establish solid links with industrial partners. Concerning the dissemination of research results, the laboratory has deployed contacts with high school networks and with the community at large.

The LPC has also thigh links with the neighbor laboratories, especially with the GANIL. It has judiciously taken advantage of the beams of the GANIL, in particular of SPIRAL1. If nowadays the teams are looking more for using other facilities, the LPC should secure its privileged relationship with GANIL and look carefully for future collaboration in order not to miss the transition from SPIRAL1 to SPIRAL2.

The LPC is well engaged in the Archade project for hadrontherapy. Its partnership with IBA is a unique opportunity for an amplification and a valorization of its participation.

• Appreciation on the management and life of the research unit

The research unit is organized in six teams. A few staff members belong to two teams and there is some mobility between the teams. The teams can rely on highly skilled technical units, with a flexible organization of the work of these units, concerning the demands of the research teams and more general R&D. The high qualification of the technical staff is maintained by a solid formation program. The running of the research activity benefits from a good collaboration between the Direction team and the Conseil de Laboratoire, not only for the everyday organization of the research unit but also for the initiation and development of new cutting edge programs. Indirectly, the research unit also benefits from the remarkably coordinated action of the operating institutions. There seems to exist also a good communication between the Direction team and the research teams based on regular meetings.

The discussion with the PhD students has also put in evidence the very good working conditions made to them and the excellent formation to research provided by the thesis advisors. On the other hand the lack of a true scientific animation of the laboratory involving all teams at the same time has already been mentioned. The task to palliate this situation has been assigned to the newly appointed Directeur-adjoint, who considers this as one of his first priorities. He is elaborating a strategy in that direction, based on internal seminars and other cross-interesting meetings.

The important contribution of the large number of "enseignants-chercheurs" to teaching in ENSICAEN and UCBN has already been underlined. In particular, this has contributed to provide the PhD students issued from these institutions with a solid background from the very beginning of their thesis.

• Appreciation on the scientific strategy and the project :

The scientific research project for the forthcoming four years is highly attractive. It is based on the skill and experience of the teams and thus appears as a continuation of the past activity. Nevertheless, even though the research themes remain basically the same, the outputs of many proposed experiments are highly waited for by the nuclear physics community. There is thus a good balance in this project between the actions that fully exploit the accumulated competences and those which are more at risk. Furthermore, the used infrastructures are not always the same as before and the choice of the latter results from a shrewd analysis of the trends in the respective fields. The proposed research program contains cutting edge projects in nuclear physics and in the physics of fundamental interactions. The theoretical future activity touches very important issues, in particular in neutron star physics. The foreseen activity in hadrontherapy plainly aims at exploiting the potentialities offered by the future Archade facility and is also very attractive with respect to the societal aspects. On the average, the project relies on larger collaborations than before, each time with an important role for the corresponding LPC team.

The analysis of the required human, technical and financial means is realistic. The regrouping of some teams is contemplated and presently debated, but no decision is taken yet. This analysis points out to the need for increasing the human resources, by the recruitment of a technician (electronics), of an engineer (informatics) and a physicist (level CR). The allocation of the latter to the hopefully regrouped applied physics team is highly recommended by the Visiting Committee. Concerning the required financial support, it appears that the recurrent funding of the laboratory should be moderately increased. On the other, a strategy should be established and an important effort should be made toward attempting to increase the own resources noticeably.

• Appreciation on the results

This team concentrates its activities on three main research themes: double beta decay and the nature of the neutrino, beta-neutrino correlation measurements to search for exotic weak currents, and the search for an electric dipole moment of the neutron. All three research themes are among the ones that are highly recommended in the European and North-American Long Range Plans and that will improve our understanding of fundamental properties of the neutrino and the weak force. Further, research on each of these three topics is performed in the context of a strong international competition.

In the case of double beta decay and the neutron electric dipole moment the team is part of large international collaborations with a long-term project and each time plays an important and clearly visible role, being responsible for several key-contributions. For the beta-neutrino correlation project the team takes advantage of the beams available at GANIL and has developed and optimized a unique Paul trap based set up with which a first measurement was realized using 6He.

The team has published in the period that is evaluated here a total of 17 papers in refereed journals. This may not seem very many, but this is inherent to this type of physics where experiments require a long preparation time. The high quality of the research performed transpires from the fact that these papers were published in high-impact journals, among which 6 in Physical Review Letters and one in Reviews of Modern Physics, while the team has also produced 6 theses and has presented 60 conference contributions.

• Appreciation on the impact, the attractiveness of the team and of the quality of its links with international, national and local partners

The team is well-seen internationally, it was e.g. regularly asked for invited talks, and has recently attracted a promising young scientist (coming from LPSC-Grenoble). Funding from different sources (IN2P3, ANR, … as well as EU) has been obtained for all three main projects. The team is a member of several EU-funded international networks. All three projects have recently produced high-quality results that were published in highly-ranked journals, for instance a test of Lorentz invariance and the first measurement ever of the transverse polarization of electrons emitted in free-neutron decay, both published in Physical Review Letters, as well as new results on the double-beta decay of 100Mo and 150Nd.

• Appreciation on the scientific strategy and the project

The team has a clear mid-to-long-term strategy for all three main topics, each being considered by the international community to be among the top priorities for the coming years, and with for each the possibility to significantly advance current knowledge or even realize a possible breakthrough towards new physics.

The fact that only a few members of the team are full-time available for research, does not hamper the progress of the different projects, because most team members are actively involved in several projects.

The temporary absence of O. Naviliat-Cuncic has led the team to decide not to embark on a second phase for the neutron lifetime project, that has recently led to a first result.

• Conclusion :

The research on fundamental interactions is of high quality and the research topics are well-chosen, each of them being among the priorities that are internationally put forward for this field. The team is internationally recognized for the high quality of its research and for its competences.

-Strengths :

Most members of the team are involved in more than one research project ; the activities on double beta decay and on the neutron electric dipole moment are embedded in large and long-term international collaborations ; the Paul trap setup is worldwide unique.

-Opportunities :

Valorisation of the Paul and MOT-trap setups for beta-neutrino correlation measurements; polarizing the trapped nuclei would further improve the sensitivity to new physics.

-Weakness :

The team should take care that the (temporary) absence of Mr. O. NAVILIAT-CUNCIC does not weaken the knowledge on phenomenology in the team, especially with respect to the beta-neutrino correlations.

-Threat :

Long-term projects (double beta decay, neutron electric dipole moment) require continued support as to finances and manpower. A possible non-approval of the extension of the Modane laboratory would hamper the continuation of the double-beta decay project.

-Recommendations

The team members working on beta-neutrino correlations are advised to do an effort to increase their expertise in phenomenology.

• Team: Structure nucléaire • Appreciation on the results

The activity of the group is focused on very neutron-rich light nuclei: halo structure, spectroscopy beyond the drip-line, and shell structure evolution. Their research contains numerous highlights and the team has developed international expertise in these fields Both the publication rate and quality are excellent. Publications in high impact journals are made both on the halo topic and on the shell structure evolution. The number of PhD students is significant, compared to the team size, which indicates that the group is dynamic.

The team is involved in more than 5 international collaborations, which are at the forefront of the present field, both on well developed detectors (CHARISSA), or in new projects such as LENA. The current collaborations with UK, Canada and Japan are solid because of the expertise of the groups involved and the good level of communication among these collaborations. The team has undertaken a strategic thinking stage in order to access to the most neutron-rich beams such as those of the Riken faciciliy. Sound scientific reasons have been given for that.

• Appreciation on the impact, the attractiveness of the team and of the quality of its links with international, national and local partners

The team leader has been awarded several CNRS medals, he is an international expert and is regularly invited to conferences. The resulting international visibility of this team is very high.

Several PhD students have been attracted to this team. Moreover the last hired scientist of the team is a highskilled experimentalist having performed both research and teaching in IPN Orsay, Riken and Berkeley. The other members of the team are also highly skilled in neutron detectors. The team benefits from a CDD CNRS and also a foreign visitor uses to come and visit on his own funding. However there is a lack of postdocs. The team is involved in numerous collaborations as mentioned above.

Strong involvement in instrumental developments of next generation neutron detector (LENA) and nuclear physics dedicated electronics (FASTER) are undertaken.

The team should develop parallel funding, such as ANR, allowing flexible budget making and expenditure planning on several years.

• Appreciation on the scientific strategy and the project

The team has a clear strategy for a reorientation towards available beams at RIKEN and TRIUMF. However, the possibilities at GANIL and SPIRAL should be carefully considered to assure that no opportunity is missed in the gap before SPIRAL2 comes on-line. The group should also consider other related physics at the neutron-rich side to prepare itself for the richer offer of isotopes at SPIRAL2.

The group is involved in the Franco-Japanese LIA. However the delocalization of the experimental activities will require an increase of the funding.

The proposed projects are in the continuity of the past activity of the group, but much remains to be studied in the behavior of light exotic nuclei with respect to halo or shell structure evolution. In order to keep on with the cutting edge character of its activity, the group needs to consider all possible sources of radioactive beams both in Europe and in the rest of the world.

• Conclusion :

The nuclear structure group has a very large international visibility and is highly skilled. Owing to their reorientation towards other facilities, the persons of the group will judiciously take advantage of the most neutronrich beams worldwide for light nuclei. Still, this strategy will probably require some re-evaluation in a couple of years.

The scientific excellence of the team leader, the variety of skills inside the team, the implication of the latter in instrumental first-line projects and the use of the current world-leading beam facilities (Riken) results in a very high standard. The use of beams in Riken and Triumf facilities, as well as the development of neutron detectors, are unique opportunities to keep a leading position in the field.

The delocalization will result in a rise of the needed funds. The team leader is internationally recognized as a top leader in the field and is presently setting up the strategy of the group. The younger team members need to be given the opportunity to take increased responsibility. This will overall strengthen the group and secure a broad and strong physics program in both time and scope.

-Recommendations

More applications for funding should be made by the group, such as ANR proposals. Also the group should be advised to search for theoretical support through the "Comité de Financement Théorie" of IN2P3: a 3 year CDD theoretician could be present in the team in order to strengthen the experiment-theory link. Of course, the direction team of the LPC should support actively the group in his various funding requests to IN2P3, in order to preserve its excellence for the forthcoming years.

Although the move to foreign facilities resulted from a well-matured scientific choice, it should be soon deeply reconsidered, involving the whole team, in order to be sure not to miss opportunities at GANIL.

• Team : Thermodynamique et dynamique nucléaire

• Introduction

The driving idea behind the study of multifragmentation and of hot nuclei is the hope to determine the equation of state of nuclear matter, to map-out the liquid-gas phase diagram with its coexistence line and spinoidal region and to measure the maximum temperature a "nucleus" may sustain before it vaporizes. Behind this is the hope that a hot nucleus will behave, at high temperature, as a thermodynamically equilibrated system and that the definition of temperature and density are warranted for these systems. In view of the sizes of the systems studied and the way hot nuclei are formed, i.e. by very violent collisions, this is a difficult task which, if achieved, could impact on many other areas of physics, astrophysics and cosmology. The present development of low-energy radioactive beams at SPIRAL2 gives an opportunity to extend this field of research and has initiated both a strong instrumental development with the FAZIA project and a new physics program.

• Appreciation on the results

Over the last 10 years, the INDRA collaboration and the LPC team have accumulated a huge amount of data on the fragmentation of systems over a wide range of masses and excitation energies. The results have been published in numerous high impact journals and the quality of the data is recognized worldwide.

• Appreciation on the impact, the attractiveness of the team and of the quality of its links with international, national and local partners

All through this effort, the LPC has put together a team whose competences range from instrumental development, data analysis, modeling and theory. As of today, it is close to being the most important group in France and possibly beyond. With respect to other groups, the LPC team has a growing importance and within the international collaboration FAZIA, the team leader already assumes a key position in the scientific coordination. The LPC team itself could, in the future, take a predominant role. The very close link with the theory group is a considerable asset. The funding is well secured and this activity has been actively supported at the French and European level.

• Appreciation on the scientific strategy and the project

The present strategy and the future scientific program relies heavily on the evolution of GANIL and of SPIRAL2. The optimum (high energy) exotic beams for this physics will not be available in the near future and the scientific program for the coming years has to be well thought out and attractive enough not only to maintain the present staff level but also to attract brilliant young researchers.

On the instrumental side, multifragmentation studies of exotic (neutron-rich) nuclear matter implies to measure the charge, the mass and the energy of nuclear fragments. This has led to the FAZIA project which has been very successful and whose results could profit well beyond this community. However, this is a long term project and the full size detector will probably not be completed before 2020.

• Conclusion

This LPC team is well established and has demonstrated its competence over all the different fields of this physics (instrumentation, data analysis and modeling). It has a very large set of data which potentially could keep the group working and publishing for many years.

The strength of this team relies on its many competences and on its strong links with the theory group. The FAZIA project is a great opportunity for it.

The coming years may be more difficult for this physics because it will take some years before high energy exotic beams are available at SPIRAL2 and at EURISOL. Care has therefore to be taken to maintain an exciting physics program at low energy. This situation affects not only the LPC but also the other French laboratories participating in the program. A number of leaders will be leaving this field soon. This is an opportunity for the LPC to increase its influence but it is also a problem of the collaboration as a whole.

-Recommendations It is highly important that the physics program for the coming years be well analyzed and discussed. It should be attractive and innovative in order to be appealing to young French and foreign researchers and to maintain the interest of the present members of this team.

The impact of the LPC on the FAZIA program should grow in importance. The program is already a success and a more important role on the instrumental aspects could be a low risk, high rewarding investment.

• Team : Théorie et phénoménologie • Appreciation on the results

The activities of this team are rather diverse. The common goal is the description of strong interaction systems. The research topics include important and challenging issues, such as quantum Monte-Carlo methods applied to ultra-cold atoms and ultimately to nuclei, various approaches to the description of phase transitions in nuclei and neutron stars, and the development of event generators suited to the description of multifragmentation, spallation reactions and physical processes in hadrontherapy.

The originality of the approaches and the importance of the scientific output, especially concerning the thermodynamical approaches to nuclear systems, with applications to phase transitions in nuclei and the physics of the neutron star crust, are to be stressed and are recognized worldly by the scientific community. The excellence of the output is also manifest from the large number of publications with refereeing procedure (29), many in world top journals, and the number of PhD theses (4), during the last four years. The group maintains a strong link with the team "Thermodynamique et Dynamique Nucléaire", with the INDRA and FAZIA collaborations and with foreign theoretical labs. Quantitatively, the origin of the scientific output is highly unbalanced, as it rests too much on one of the components of the team and results by the strong involvement of the other components in administrative and teaching tasks.

• Appreciation on the impact, the attractiveness of the team and of the quality of its links with international, national and local partners

The group has a high visibility in the international community, which is corroborated by the regular invited talks delivered at international meetings. One of the permanent members has recently received the prestigious JOLIOT-CURIE award from the Société Française de Physique. The permanent members of the group are strongly involved in teaching activities, which allow them to recruit good students. The participation in international collaborations is very good. The team has secured funding. In particular, it benefits from an ANR contract.

• Appreciation on the scientific strategy and the project

The proposed research project is based on the continuation of the present activity and on new items. It is partly motivated by the interaction with the FAZIA collaboration (QMD simulations), the applications in hadrontherapy (de-excitation models and antisymmetrized molecular dynamics) and the applications in nuclear structure (quantum Monte-Carlo methods). The work on neutron star physics is very promising and involves original methods. The development of a new Hauser-Feshbach code does not present an urgent need since well-tested codes already exist. Finally, it looks like the team has not precisely defined a common strategy.

• Conclusion:

The team is making an excellent work on cutting edge physics. The results are far-reaching for the understanding of nuclear thermodynamics and of neutron star physics.

Its strength is coming partly from the strong involvement of the permanent members in teaching of physics in the UCBN and ENSICAEN, which helps to attract students. Other strong points are the very good interaction with the experimental groups and the excellent visibility of the group in the international nuclear physics community, especially owing to the reputation of the leader of the team.

The weak point comes from the coexistence in the team of members who are strongly devoted to research with others who are largely occupied by their teaching and organizational commitments.

-Recommendations

The team should really think about the proper way to palliate the last weak point. In particular, developing a collaboration with external physicists for the quantum Monte-Carlo calculations would be indicated.

• Team : Aval du Cycle Electronucléaire • Appreciation on the results

The team is working on relevant and challenging issues for nuclear waste incineration and ADS. The two themes are neutron cross-section measurements and tests for hybrid systems. Both subjects are getting increasingly important as nuclear power has a political aspect due to concern for global warming linked to fossil fuels. There is also, even at highest political level, a concern about proliferation linked to e.g. waste reprocessing. The team is small with only part time staff and one PhD student but has strong links to the nuclear engineering program at the ENSICAEN. The group is publishing and participating in conferences (with proceedings). It has strong links with many international networks and collaborations but without playing a leading role in any of them. The future is oriented towards a completion of work in several programs and towards the Neutron for Science facility at SPIRAL2.

• Appreciation on the impact, the attractiveness of the team and of the quality of its links with international, national and local partners

The group is small and all members have other activities e.g. teaching and lab direction in parallel to the group activities. They take active part in the scientific community and have had invitations to speak at several international meetings. The strong links to the engineering school means that the group has the opportunity to recruit students through active link to the teaching program. This was stressed at the presentation and it is a bit surprising that they only have one PhD student at present. Participation in international collaborations is very good and it was encouraging to hear about the completion of the cross section measurements in Uppsala after necessary upgrades of the Uppsala facilities. The target monitor at Guinevere is certainly very important for quality data but it is clear that the group so far hasn't taken a leading role in any collaboration.

The group has secured funds and is getting access to EU funds through the different collaborations they are participating in.

The work has potentially major impact on society through the collaborations they are participating in. It should be a motivating factor for both staff and for students.

• Appreciation on the scientific strategy and the project A long term strategy exists through the completion of the on-going collaborations and within "Neutrons for Science" at SPIRAL2. However, it wasn't clear from the presentations what the actual contribution of the group would be to any of these programs beyond completing on-going activities.

The neutron cross section measurements are important but standard. However, the work at Guinevere is different. The project itself is cutting edge and the group is using its know-how in detector technology to make an original and important contribution. The team should seriously study the possibility of continuing research on hybrid systems after the Guinevere experiment and of joining the MYRRHA project, under the auspices of the IN2P3.

• Conclusion and recommendations

The group is doing important work on neutron cross section measurements and is contributing to a key study for waste incineration. The good links to the ENSICAEN is a strength and it should be further explored to get more students involved in the work. It also seems right to us to aim for contributions which are in line with the other activities of the LPC, e.g. detector and instrument development. However, there is a strong need for an overall strategy which clearly spells out the long term goals of the group (even if the national context still might be undecided). The small team votes in our view for a merger with the medical physics team. Furthermore, this socreated united application group clearly needs the recruitment of a full time researcher who can give continuity, help formulate a vision for the team's work, strengthen the publications and, last but not least, have the time to take a leading role in e.g. NFS at SPIRAL2. This future group would then have critical manpower to make major impact at different experiments at different times and assure that the activities on the "Aval du cycle" have a future, independent of the future French research strategy for nuclear waste incineration.

• Team: Applications médicales

• Introduction

The LPC team is strongly involved in an interdisciplinary project where nuclear techniques in medical applications connected with ionizing radiations are used for therapeutic purposes (radioprotection, dosimetry, beam handling, etc). A major engagement of the team is actually the Archade project, a European resource center for hadrontherapy, based on a superconducting cyclotron accelerator to be installed in Caen.

• Appreciation on the results

During the actual quadriannual plan, the team has valorized its 'know-how' in the fields of dosimetry, radioprotection and beam control through collaborations and contracts with GANIL, CIMAP, IRSN and IBA, the worldleading constructor of medical cyclotrons with which the collaboration will be strongly strengthened for the Archade project. In Carbon-therapy, a precise knowledge of the delivered dose depends on the fragmentation process of the incident ions. In collaboration with teams from IPHC Strasbourg and IPN Lyon, the LPC team has initiated an experimental program to measure 12C fragmentation cross-sections at 95 MeV/nucleon. Experiments have been performed at GANIL with thick tissue-like targets (in 2008) and thin target experiments are planned in 2011. During the period 2006-2010, 6 articles have been published, 3 theses presented and one patent taken out.

The results of the Ganil experiment and of the simulation calculations should be published in a near future.

• Appreciation on the impact, the attractiveness of the team and of the quality of its links with international, national and local partners

The LPC team is engaged in the definition and writing of the scientific program of Archade as well as in the connected R&D hadrontherapy techniques. These engagements have recently been consolidated by the creation of a GIS between IN2P3 and Archade. The LPC is also implicated in the research program of the GDR "Modélisation et Instrumentation en Imagerie Biomédicale". The experimental program at Ganil is performed in collaboration with teams from IPHC Strasbourg and IPN Lyon. In the case of IPN, a strong partnership is particularly recommended because this IN2P3 laboratory is involved in the project Etoile, a hadrontherapy center to be built in Lyon.

For the Archade project, which is certainly a great opportunity for the LPC Caen, the team "Applications Médicales" has an important role to play in the conception of control devices for the accelerated proton and carbon beams and of the set-ups of the experimental area. The construction of Archade is going to start at the end of 2011 with a first beam probably delivered in 2015.

In the period 2011-2015, the team will perform new experiments mainly at Ganil but also at GSI (experiment First) to get a better description of the fragmentation process and thus to improve the simulations needed for a future TPS (Treatment Planning System). The results of these new studies will be a strong guide to the Archade experimental program.

• Conclusion and recommendations

The teams "Aval du Cycle" and "Applications Médicales" are essentially composed of Enseignants-Chercheurs. These two teams are engaged in important interdisciplinary research programs, which are among the priorities of the LPC. The Archade project is a unique opportunity for both teams. Their "coming together" is thus highly wanted and will significantly increase the visibility of the group in the project. This will not remove the problem of the "undercritical" size, which comes from the limited time that the Enseignants-Chercheurs of the two teams can devote to research. The reinforcement of the combined group by the hiring of a CNRS "Chargé de Recherche" in 2011 would be of great help to the LPC involvement in Archade. As said before, the LPC will have to strengthen its collaboration with the other IN2P3 laboratories and in particular with the IPN Lyon to develop concerted and coherent actions for the hadrontherapy projects Archade and Etoile. The strategy of the LPC for Archade in the short range term is well defined; the laboratory should now start preparing a long range research plan for the period after 2015.

Intitulés des domaines scientifiques

4

  Appreciation team by team• Team : Interactions fondamentales et nature du neutrino• Team leader : Mr. G. BAN

  Sciences de la terre et de l'univers ST4 -Chimie ST5 -Sciences pour l'ingénieur ST6 -Sciences et technologies de l'information et de la communication

•

  Team leader: Mr. N. ORR

	• Staff members
		Past	Future
	N1: Number of researchers with teaching duties (Form 2.1 of the application file) (ETPT)	1	1
	N2: Number of full time researchers from research organizations (Form 2.3 of the application file) (ETPT)	3	3
	N3: Number of other researchers including postdoctoral fellows (Forms 2.2, 2.4 and 2.7 of the application file)	1	1
	N4: Number of engineers, technicians and administrative staff with a tenured position (Form 2.5 of the application file)	-	-
	N5: Number engineers, technicians and administrative staff without a tenured position (Form 2.6 of the application file)	-

N6: Number of Ph.D. students (Form 2.8 of the application file) 1 N7: Number of staff members with a HDR or a similar grade 1 1

•

  Team leader : Mr. R. BOUGAULT

	• Staff members
		Past	future
	N1: Number of researchers with teaching duties (Form 2.1 of the application file) (ETPT)	0.8	0.8
	N2: Number of full time researchers from research organizations (Form 2.3 of the application file) (ETPT)	2.75	2.75
	N3: Number of other researchers including postdoctoral fellows (Forms 2.2, 2.4 and 2.7 of the application file)
	N4: Number of engineers, technicians and administrative staff with a tenured position (Form 2.5 of the application file)
	N5: Number engineers, technicians and administrative staff without a tenured position (Form 2.6 of the application file)
	N6: Number of PhD students (Form 2.8 of the application file)	1
	N7: Number of staff members with a HDR or a similar grade	3	3

•

  Project leader : Mrs. F. GULMINELLI

	• Staff members
		Past	future
	N1: Number of researchers with teaching duties (Form 2.1 of the application file) (ETPT)	0.5	0.5
	N2: Number of full time researchers from research organizations (Form 2.3 of the application file) (ETPT)	0.35	0.35
	N3: Number of other researchers including postdoctoral fellows (Forms 2.2, 2.4 and 2.7 of the application file)
	N4: Number of engineers, technicians and administrative staff with a tenured position
	(Form 2.5 of the application file)
	N5: Number engineers, technicians and administrative staff without a tenured position (Form 2.6 of the application file)
	N6: Number of Ph.D. students (Form 2.8 of the application file)	3
	N7: Number of staff members with a HDR or a similar grade	2	2

•

  Team leader : Mr. F.-R. LECOLLEY (MC)

	• Staff members
		Past	Future
	N1: Number of researchers with teaching duties (Form 2.1 of the application file) (ETPT)	1.55	1.55
	N2: Number of full time researchers from research organizations (Form 2.3 of the application file) (ETPT)	0.1	0.1
	N3: Number of other researchers including postdoctoral fellows (Forms 2.2, 2.4 and 2.7 of the application file)
	N4: Number of engineers, technicians and administrative staff with a tenured position (Form 2.5 of the application file)
	N5: Number engineers, technicians and administrative staff without a tenured position (Form 2.6 of the application file)
	N6: Number of PhD students (Form 2.8 of the application file)	-
	N7: Number of staff members with a HDR or a similar grade	1	1

•

  Team leader: Mr. Jean COLIN

	• Staff members
		Past	Future
	N1: Number of researchers with teaching duties (Form 2.1 of the application file) (ETPT)	1.2	1.2
	N2: Number of full time researchers from research organizations (Form 2.3 of the application file) (ETPT)	0.5	0.5
	N3: Number of other researchers including postdoctoral fellows (Forms 2.2, 2.4 and 2.7 of the application file)
	N4: Number of engineers, technicians and administrative staff with a tenured position
	(Form 2.5 of the application file)
	N5: Number engineers, technicians and administrative staff without a tenured position (Form 2.6 of the application file)
	N6: Number of Ph.D. students (Form 2.8 of the application file)	2
	N7: Number of staff members with a HDR or a similar grade	3	3

Les conclusions du rapport représentent un guide précieux pour la politique scientifique future du laboratoire. Des corrections factuelles ainsi que les remarques du directeur du laboratoire vous ont été transmises avec mon approbation par l'ENSI CAEN.


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:

Translational Gene Therapy for neuromuscular and retinal diseases The unit has also implemented the "Centre de Production des Vecteurs" (CPV, Nantes University Hospital), a preclinical manufacturing facility, as well as a GMP-compliant unit (Atlantic BioGMP, EFS) to have direct access to preclinical as well as clinical rAAV vector batches. The unit conceived and organized the animal facility of the "Boisbonne gene and cell therapy center" located at ONIRIS veterinary school, for preclinical evaluation of candidate products in large animal models.

In addition, the unit has access to several on site technological core facilities hosted by the "Structure Fédérative de Recherche" (SFR) Mr François BONAMY (high throughput sequencing, bioinformatics, cell sorting and flow cytometry, cell and tissue imaging, cardiac and muscle strength evaluation, animal transgenesis).

Management team

The current director is Mr Philippe MOULLIER. For the next contract Ms Oumeya ADJALI will head the unit.

HCERES nomenclature

SVE1_LS7 Recherche clinique, Santé publique

Scientific domains

The unit is focused on rAAV-based gene therapy of neuromuscular diseases, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in particular, and retinal diseases, including Rod-cone dysplasia, retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt disease… Preclinical research is developed in core labs, in particular for neuromuscular disease and retinal diseases in dogs and Non-Human Primates (PNH). Rodent models are also in development.

Unit workforce

Unit workforce

Number 2  Overall assessment of the unit

Introduction

Translational science is the hallmark of the unit, which has a remarkable organization that covers all stages of the development of a gene therapy product, from basic science, vectorology, proof of concept studies in small and large animal models, to clinical trials. To tackle this objective, the unit is organized in four strongly integrated thematic groups on "innovative vectorology", "gene therapy of neuromuscular diseases", "gene therapy of retinal diseases" and "Immunology of AAV-based gene transfer".

Each thematic group has a scientific leader and a dedicated staff. The unit also relies on Core laboratories for Vector Production (CPV), GMP production (Good Manufacturing Practices)(ABG or Atlantic BioGMP) preclinical studies (Boisbonne center) and GCLP monitoring (Good Clinical Laboratory Guidelines) of clinical trials. Projects are conducted under the ISO9001 Quality Assurance (QA) certification.

During the past term, 2011-2015, the unit has continued to strengthen its scientific program in the development of rAAV for gene therapy of neuromuscular and retinal disease. A significant extension of the preclinical research programs in large animal models (dogs and non-human primates, NHP) was undertaken, which was a critical step for the translation of the therapeutic strategies into clinical trials; in particular a Phase I/II trial for RPE65 deficiency, completed in 2014, is now extended to a second trial scheduled for 2017. A remarkable organization and re-structuring have been undertaken to tackle all the challenges of these translational medicine programs, from basic studies, to vector design, preclinical testing, GMP production and GCLP core labs to monitor clinical phase studies. The recruitment and involvement of young scientists, who are now taking the lead of the programs, have been strongly promoted.

Global assessment of the unit

The unit has made, over the past 5 years, major breakthroughs in several diseases. In particular, they reported the proof of concept of a successful restoration of vision after treatment with rAAV gene therapy products in PDE6ß and RPGRIP-deficient dogs, two large animal models of rod-cone and cone-rod dystrophies. This approach is now being translated into clinical trials (AAV5-PDE6ß) in collaboration with HORAMA (spin off of the unit).

The team has a very good record of scientific production which increased during the past two years, with publications in several good to excellent peer reviewed journals (Molecular Therapy, Human Gene Therapy, Gene Therapy, Nature Medicine…). The international visibility is high, as illustrated by the sustained contribution to international meetings, including as invited speakers and for oral abstract presentations. The partnership with several prestigious institutions illustrates the quality of the established network (Harvard University, TIGET-Milano, Institute of Myology and Holloway College in London, Clinigen EU network of excellence). The level of research contracts (ANR, Genethon, région "Pays de la Loire") is outstanding.

Altogether, and combined with a quite unique expertise in rAAV vectors developed from basic programs to GMP production and clinical trials, the unit is highly attractive for young investigators of diverse origins who are encouraged to lead some of the key new research programs.

The management and the new organizational chart are structured to foster the translational medicine perspective of the unit's global project. This certainly explains also the recent successes in patent applications, and in the spin-off of two companies, HORAMA and Advanced Biotherapeutics Consulting (ABC), dedicated to gene therapy of retinal diseases and preclinical research, respectively.

The positioning within Nantes University and Nantes University Hospital ("Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nantes") and the support of these institutions in association to INSERM, is a major asset for the unit, bridging basic science to clinical research, in a multidisciplinary environment. The preservation of a good balance between basic and translational programs, and the sustainability of contacts for the young investigators, who are the leaders of the thematic groups, will be one of the challenges for the coming five years.

Strengths and opportunities in the context

 the unit shows a strong highly dynamic and well-structured organization;

 the unit has an international reputation in the field of rAAV based gene therapy;

 the unit benefits from an exceptional environment including academic local partners, unique facilities and core labs, clinical research units, reorganization and extension of university campus, dynamics of regional policies fostering translational research programs;

 the implication of young investigators is strong;

 the unit has a strong and focused scientific program.

Weaknesses and threats in the context

 the level of scientific publications does not fully reflect the dynamics and level of the scientific production;

 the long-term presence of key personnel, particularly thematic group leaders and experts of core facilities, is not secured;

 the number of international grants is insufficient (i.e. H2020);

 the move into the new IRS2 building of the University of Nantes might transiently spread the team, labs and instruments between two locations (IRS2 & IRS-UN).

Recommendations

 it is necessity to preserve a good balance between upstream and translational medicine research programs;

 the unit should accelerate the dissemination of results through peer reviewed scientific publications and establish a publication strategy to reach higher-level journals;

 the future management strategy will need to consider how to stabilize the position of thematic leaders;

 although the unit had an exceptional level of funding for its translational programs, applications to highly competitive grants and fellowships of National agencies (i.e. ANR) and of the European Commission (ERC, H2020 collaborative projects) may reinforce the visibility of its basic research programs and may improve the sustainability of funding in the future;

 the unit should increase the number of recruited postdoctoral scientists. This may need to enhance the visibility through adequate communication strategies;

 the immunology theme should be reinforced, through the recruitment of a young investigator with strong immunology background, and through a more integrated strategy with innovative vectorology to design rAAV vectors with increased tolerogenic capacity.

  Mr Roger LE GRAND, CEA-INSERM -Université Paris Sud Experts: Mr François TROTTEIN, Centre d'infection et d'immunité de Lille, Université de Lille Ms Els VERHOEYEN, CIRI Lyon, ENS, Université de Lyon (representative of the INSERM CSS) Scientific delegate representing the HCERES: Mr Jacques NOËL Representatives of supervising institutions and bodies: Mr Fréderic BENHAMOU, Université de Nantes Ms Chantal LASSERRE, INSERM Head of Doctoral School: Ms Corinne MIRAL, Doctoral School n° 502 "Biologie Santé" 1  Introduction History and geographical location of the unitThe INSERM UMR 1089 "translational gene therapy for neuromuscular and retinal diseases" is located in the "Institut de Recherche en Santé de l'Université de Nantes" (IRS-UN), in Nantes. The unit was created in January 2011 with the goal to develop translational research programs for gene therapy of neuromuscular and retinal genetic diseases, up to Phase I/II and III clinical trials. The program is based on the expertise developed by the team since 1996, particularly reinforced since 2004 by the development of recombinant Adeno-Associated Virus (rAAV)-derived vectors.

on 30/06/2015

			Number on
			01/01/2017
	N1: Permanent professors and similar positions	4	4
	N2: Permanent researchers from Institutions and similar positions	3	3
	N3: Other permanent staff (technicians and administrative personnel)	5	5
	N4: Other professors (Emeritus Professor, on-contract Professor, etc.)
	N5: Other researchers from Institutions (Emeritus Research Director, Postdoctoral students, visitors, etc.)	6
	N6: Other contractual staff (technicians and administrative personnel)	7
	N7: PhD students	6
	TOTAL N1 to N7	31
	Qualified research supervisors (HDR) or similar positions	5
	Unit record	From 01/01/2010 to 30/06/2015
	PhD theses defended	6
	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

Muriel Moser

In the name of HCERES, 1

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:

Centre (2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) and passed the responsibility to Mr Jacques LE PENDU, the current director.

The Unit INSERM 892-CNRS 6299 comprises 18 teams, 325 people, including 112 researchers, 48 PhD students, 8 postdoctoral fellows, 64 engineers and technicians. The center is organized in 3 departments: 1) Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2) Cell death and resistance and 3) Immunospecific targeting of radionucleides and nanoparticles.

Most of the teams (11) are located in the center of Nantes, 2 teams are close to Nantes (near a Cancer Medical and Research Center) and 2 teams are located in Angers. The unit has recently integrated 2 new teams, according to the recommendation of the previous evaluation panel: team 15 and team 17 (ATIP Avenir). Another team (18), located in Angers, is applying to join the CCRNA in 2017.

Management team

Mr Jacques LE PENDU is currently finishing his 5-year term. Mr Marc GRÉGOIRE has been recently elected and will be the next director, starting from January 2017.

HCERES nomenclature

SVE1_LS6 Immunologie, microbiologie, virologie, parasitologie SVE1_LS3 Biologie cellulaire, biologie du développement animal SVE1_LS4 Physiologie, physiopathologie, biologie systémique médicale SVE1_LS7 Epidémiologie, santé publique, recherche clinique, technologies biomédicales

Scientific domains

The CRCNA teams focus on 3 complementary fields, namely immunology, cell death/resistance and nuclear medicine, covered by 3 departments. Importantly, cross-department projects contribute to the development of combined therapies through multi-disciplinary approaches.

The objective of the unit, in connection to IRCNA (Institut Régional du Cancer Nantes Atlantique), the CHU (Nantes and Angers) and the Clinical Oncology Institute (ICO), is to develop basic and translational research as well as clinical oncology. Regarding human therapies, the CCRNA has developed an organotypic culture of breast cancer to test the response to treatment (resulting in a clinical protocol and the creation of a start-up company), has identified the mycolactone toxin as the molecular basis of painlessness in Buruli ulcer (opening the way to new anti-pain treatments), has validated an adoptive cell transfer protocol with Melan-A and MELOE-1 sorted T cells, and has validated measles virus for its oncolytic and immunogenic roles in the treatment of mesothelioma (patents with Institut Pasteur and INSERM-CNRS, creation of the start up OncoVITA in 2015).

Unit workforce

Unit workforce

Since the last evaluation report, a high energy, high intensity Cyclotron has been installed and is operational since 2011.

Global assessment of the unit

The global assessment of the unit is very good for basic, translational and clinical research.

Since 2010, the members of the CRCNA and the new team 18 published more than 884 publications and contributed to more than 50 clinical trials (17 still ongoing), wrote 15 patents, created 5 biotech companies and have been involved in the development of 4 other Biotechs.

They have been involved in 5 international networks, in several Initiatives of Excellence programs, and in the organization of more than 20 scientific meetings, including several international ones.

Most teams obtained industrial contracts, and team members have created 5 start-up companies.

Regarding translational research, this is a strong point with 17 clinical trials or sample collections ongoing.

The teams have successfully trained 78 PhD students during the last term, with most of them having published at least one paper as a first author.

Strengths and opportunities in the context

Strengths

Recommendations

The committee recommends:

-ensure strong and insightful leadership; -improve and reinforce the basic research in the unit, which is directly linked to, and will foster, the translational research;

-pursue the recruitment of new young scientists, and secure laboratory space for the recruited researchers.

2

  Overall assessment of the unit Introduction In 2017, the "Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie Nantes-Angers" (CCRNA) will be renamed "Centre de Cancérologie et d'Immunologie Nantes-Angers" (CCINA) in order to highlight one of the strengths of the institute, i.e. Immunology and immunotherapy. They have focused their efforts in basic research on (1) the molecular mechanisms by which a subset of  lymphocytes detects stressed cells; (2) the identification of a novel human Foxp3-negative regulatory T cell population; (3) the molecular mechanisms underlying immunogenicity of cancer cells treated with alpha radionuclides; (4) the description of a new mechanism of IL-15 signalling; (5) the comparison of the metabolic signature in cancer versus normal stem cells.

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  recognized expertise in onco-immunology, immunotherapy; -involvement in national and international networks; -complementary expertise in department and pluridisciplinarity; -capacity to link basic and clinical research; -access to well organized technological platforms; -creation of start-ups and collaborations with companies. Opportunities -critical mass and multidisciplinary competences; -recruitment of new young researchers; -LabCT (Laboratoire de Biologie Clinique des Tumeurs) cell therapy facilities and the Arronax cyclotron. Weaknesses and threats in the context Weaknesses -few publications in TOP journals (lack of visibility); -too many ITA on short-term contracts; difficulty to develop new technologies; -weak participation to European projects. Threats -heavy teaching duties for several members of the unit; -low attractiveness for foreign post-docs; -limited competence in bioinformatics; -geographical dispersion; -drifting away too much from basic research.

  de Cancérologie et d'Immunologie Nantes-Angers

	Representatives of supervising institutions and bodies:
	1  Introduction	Mr Olivier LABOUX, University of Nantes
		Ms Marie-Josèphe LEROY-ZAHMIA, INSERM
	Mr Bruno LUCAS, CNRS History and geographical location of the unit
	CRCNA is a structure initially created as an INSERM research center (INSERM U892) in 2008. Mr Marc BONNEVILLE Mr Jean-Paul SAINT-ANDRÉ, University of Angers was the first director
	Head of Doctoral School:
	Unit acronym:	CCINA Mr Frank BOURY, Doctoral School n° 502 "Biologie Santé"
	Label requested:	UMR, UMR_S
	Current number:	UMR 6299, UMR_S 892
	Name of Director
	(2015-2016):	Mr Jacques LE PENDU
	Name of Project Leader
	(2017-2021):	Mr Marc GREGOIRE
	Expert committee members
	Chair:	Ms Muriel MOSER, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
	Experts:	Mr Vincent DIVE, CEA Saclay (representative of INSERM)
		Ms Xuefen LE BOURHIS, University of Lille (representative of CNU)
		Ms Sophie LUCAS, University of Louvain, Belgium
		Ms Fathia MAMI-CHOUAIB, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif (representative of
		CoNRS)
		Mr Bernhard MOSER, University of Cardiff, UK
		Mr Bertrand NADEL, University of Marseille (representative of INSERM)
		Mr Jean-Ehrland RICCI, University of Nice (representative of CoNRS)
		Mr Guus VAN DONGEN, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
		Mr Christian WIDMANN, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
	Scientific delegate representing the HCERES:
		Mr Jean ROSENBAUM

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

Centre de Cancérologie et d'Immunologie Nantes-Angers, CCINA, U Nantes, U Angers, INSERM, CNRS, M Marc GREGOIRE