Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CIRB)

Morgane Thion, Claude Paoletti 2024 Prize

CIRB activities

Access the CIRB seminar calendar

CNRS/UMR 7241 - INSERM U1050

The Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en biologie (CIRB), created in 2009 on the initiative of Alain Prochiantz, is located on the Marcelin Berthelot site of the Collège de France. The CIRB is currently made up of 21 teams, with research themes ranging from microbiology, cell biology, developmental biology, neuroscience and evolution to cancer biology.

The CIRB offers an integrated and original environment for conducting research on cutting-edge issues in modern biology. Our strength and originality lie in bringing together scientists with different cultures and expertise. CIRB members develop both experimental and theoretical approaches, and are interested in the fundamental mechanisms underlying biological processes.

Recent advances in the Life Sciences have dramatically altered the way research and innovation are now approached. The reductionist approach of "dissecting" organisms down to their basic constituents has produced vast quantities of data at all levels of life organization. It is now essential to propose an integrated vision bringing together the fields of development, physiology and evolution.

Biological systems are also perceived as extremely dynamic entities, constantly evolving to adapt to the internal (physico-chemical) and external (environmental) constraints to which they are subjected. Understanding the mechanisms that govern the functioning and evolution of biological systems is one of the major challenges of modern science. This is precisely what CIRB teams are dedicated to, notably within the framework of local partnerships coordinated by PSL, such as LabexMemolife 2.0 and the Q-Life Convergence Institute. Thanks to multi-scale approaches involving different but interconnected constituents, our aim is to achieve a global vision of the biological mechanisms at work in the living world. CIRB is directed by Marie-Hélène Verlhac, DRCE2 CNRS, and is supported by 3 institutions: Collège de France, CNRS and Inserm.

CIRB researchers are actively involved in training students at PSL, SU and Paris-Cité universities. The CIRB benefits from the extremely rich scientific environment of the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. Each new team is recruited through a call for applications, with the aim of participating in the common effort to encourage interdisciplinarity and build bridges between the different scales of Life.

Presentation

The CIRB is a Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology created in 2009 by Alain Prochiantz and located in the Collège de France in Paris. It is composed of 21 teams interested in various themes ranging from theoretical biology, microbiology, cell and developmental biology, neurosciences to cancer biology, and cardio-vascular research. The CIRB provides an original and integrated environment to address key questions in Life Sciences. Our originality and strength reside in the association of people with different scientific culture and expertise, developing both experimental and theoretical approaches, all interested in fundamental mechanisms underlying biological processes.

Recent progress in life sciences has had major impact on how we envision future research and innovation. The reductionist approach decomposing organisms into their basic elements has generated vast volumes of data at all levels of biological organizations. It is now time to position all those elements into a larger scheme gathering development, evolution and physiology. Biological systems are also increasingly seen as highly dynamic entities constantly adapting to internal (physico-chemical) and external (environmental) constraints. Understanding how biological systems operate and evolve in normal and disease conditions are among the greatest challenges in modern science.

The CIRB, in the context of its associated partners from the University Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), such as the MemolifeLabex or the Convergence Q-Life Institute, precisely aims to meet these challenges. By using multiscale approaches as well as integrating different but interlinked components, our goal is to obtain a global vision of biological mechanisms at play in living organisms. The CIRB is headed by Marie-Hélène Verlhac and is supported by three Institutes, the Collège de France, the INSERM and the CNRS. Researchers in the CIRB are actively engaged in the training of students coming from PSL, Sorbonne University as well as the University of Paris. The CIRB benefits from the extremely rich scientific environment of the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. Recruitment of teams within the CIRB is achieved only via international calls with the objective that new teams will participate in this common effort towards interdisciplinarity to bridge the various scales of the living world. The CIRB, in the context of its associated partners from the University Paris Sciences biological mechanisms at play in living organisms.