Participant 10 University of Toulouse (INSERM)
http://www.toulouse-limoges.inserm.fr
Principal Investigator: Dr. Anne Cambon-Thomsen
Inserm U558 (Toulouse, France) is a joint research unit from the National Institute of Health and Medical research (Inserm) and the University Paul Sabatier (Toulouse 3), located in the Department of Epidemiology, Health economics and Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine Purpan. It is entitled: « Epidemiology and analyses in Public Health: risks, chronic diseases and handicaps » (Director: Dr H. Grandjean). It comprises about 65 persons and includes 5 teams.
The team involved in this project is team 4, “Genomics and public health: interdisciplinary approach” led by Dr Anne Cambon-Thomsen, CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research) Research Director. The team addresses the implications of genomics for public health, especially issues pertaining to biobanks and to disease genetics. It has specifically worked on ethical, legal and social issues of human biobanks and human genetics in the context of research, of Public Health Genomics applications especially in the domains of transplantation, genetic epidemiology studies of autoimmune diseases and population genetics. This team includes 12 persons of different disciplinary background (medicine, genetic epidemiology, public health, philosophy, sociology, health economics, psychology).
An important research objective is to explore the ethical, legal and public health implications when implementing new genomics parameters into health sector and how new dimensions of the information provided by health professionals influences the relations between professionals, patients and their families and the public.
The team is involved in several European projects (Coordination of an EU Public health project POSEIDON dealing with haematopoietic stem cell donation for transplantation, participation to an EU FP6 Integrated Project on Induction of Tolerance in Transplantation (RISET, LSHB-CT-2005-512090), a coordination action on harmonization of biobanks in Europe (PHOEBE, LSHG-CT-2006-518148) and in a Science and society research project on ethics in biotechnology industry in EU (from GMP to GBP, SAS6-CT-2006-036806), as well as in two FP7 projects in negotiation, one about genomics information management (GEN2PHEN) and the other in the Infrastructure construction BBMRI (Biobanks and biomolecular resources infrastructure) with leadership of the WP on ethical and societal issues).
A. Cambon-Thomsen also leads the “Genetics and society platform” of the genopole Toulouse Midi Pyrenees that proposes help to scientific community for ethical aspects of research projects.
Partner 10 will be in involved in the management of the ethical aspects of the project and research tasks of the WP5 (Ethical and Societal Issues).