Institut Pasteur - EUPHEM

Contact person

Monica Sala
Tel. + 33 1 40 61 37 06
Fax. +33 1 40 61 31 59

Description of the institute

Since its creation in 1887, the Institut Pasteur has become famous throughout the world as a symbol of science and French culture. For almost 130 years, our foundation has been contributing to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases through research, teaching and public health initiatives.

Across the globe, thousands of researchers who have been trained or are working at Institut Pasteur share the values which form the very core of the Pasteurian community:

• an original scientific approach,
• an ongoing preoccupation with applying research to public health needs,
• professional ethics,
• a desire to care for people regardless of their background or nationality, and
• an outward-looking attitude, sharing knowledge and expertise with the international community.

These guiding principles make the Institut Pasteur a unique institution which values exchanges and partnerships.

The Institut Pasteur enjoys an independent status and has numerous other assets, with its research laboratories, technological platforms, teaching centre and medical centre, all located on one campus in the heart of Paris. It also has an international network which currently counts 33 members spread over the five continents.

With its unique setup and prestigious history, the Institut Pasteur has always stood at the forefront of innovation, adapting to the rapidly developing world of biological research and its applications, in particular in the field of biotechnology.

Nowadays, the Institut Pasteur has four priorities to carry out its activities successfully

• to target its scientific strategy towards infectious diseases, microbiology, virology and immunology and interdisciplinary approaches
• to adopt an outward-looking attitude, both within France, through agreements and collaborations with its partners : CNRS (French National Scientific Research Centre), Inserm (French National Institute for Health and Medical Research), universities, hospitals, industrial partners, etc., and at international level with the development of the Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (International Network of the Institut Pasteur or RIIP),
• to implement transversal research programs on ambitious themes and led by young researchers;
• to preserve the foundation’s independence, in particular through increased resources from research grants, partnerships, sponsorship and donations.

These priorities, upholding the traditional tasks and values of the Institut Pasteur, place it at the cutting edge of the 21st century’s scientific and human challenges.

A forward-looking strategy

• A scientific strategy, constantly striving for excellence, focused on microbiology and infectious diseases, as well as immunology
• Consolidated openness to the outside world : > on a national scale, through agreements and collaboration with its closest partners, among which public research organisms (CNRS - French National Scientific Research Centre, INSERM - French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, etc.), universities, hospitals (Necker, Cochin, etc.), the Institut Pasteur in Lille, the Fondation Mérieux, and also its industrial partners > on an international scale, through the development of the Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RI IP)
• A reactive internal organisational structure, with the creation of four research centers (Bioinformatics, Global Health, Translational research, Innovation) and ambitious cross-disciplinary research programs led by young researchers, the limitation of mandate periods, and greater mobility for the Institut Pasteur personnel
• Preservation of autonomy through promoting entrepreneurship and a growing commercialization of research results and an increase in patronage-related resources

Key figures of Institut Pasteur

The institute founded by Louis Pasteur is today a unique integrated research hub fostering cooperation and synergy between scientists. The Institut Pasteur has established itself as an outward-looking and pioneering centre constantly seeking to develop effective new partnerships and alliances. The numbers speak for themselves.

• Established: 1887
• Workforce: Some 2,5784 people (scientists, engineers, technicians, administrative staff) of over 68 nationalities
• Budget: €289,1 million in 2018:
  * Revenue from own activities: 51.1% (industrial royalties, sales and services, research contracts)
  * Government contributions: 17.9%
  * Donations, legacies and patrimony incomes: 31%
• Research units: 134 units organized into 12 research departments
• Technological platforms: 20 technological platforms:
  * One center for the production of Anopheles
  * One software and databases group
  * Microorganism collections housed at the Institut Pasteur biological resources center
• Training and knowledge transfer: 900 students of 66 nationalities
• International Network: 32 institutes worldwide
• Biotech start-up support: Fifteen new businesses launched over the last 15 years
• Research applications: 19 priority patents in portfolio 

Research and Public Health

• 134 biology research laboratories and units, prioritising the fight against infectious diseases (microbiology). The research also focuses on other diseases such as certain cancers, genetic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and allergy. The research units belong to 11 research departments organized under the following themes:
  • Cell Biology and Infection
  • Developmental and Stem Cell Biology
  • Genomes and Genetics
  • Immunology
  • Global Health
  • Microbiology 
  • Mycology
  • Neuroscience
  • Parasitology and Insect Vectors
  • Structural Biology and Chemistry
  • Virology
  • Computational Biology
• The Institut Pasteur research units also include public health activities, especially hosting 9 WHO Collaborating Centers and 15 National Reference Centers (NRC). Their mandate includes:
  • expertise on microbiology, pathology of infectious agents and their susceptibility to antimicrobial agents;
  • contribution to epidemiological surveillance;
  • alerting the Institut de Veille Sanitaire and the Ministry of Health of any findings that may impact on the health status of the population; and
  • advisory role to public authorities, national health agencies and health professionals.
• Medical Centre provides the following services to the public:
  • Consultations: Infectious and tropical diseases, Travel medicine, Allergy
  • Vaccinations and advice to travellers
  • Rabies centre
• The main public health functions are:
  • Surveillance of microbiological infections
  • Microbiological Surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases
  • Investigation and control of communicable disease
  • Public health microbiological research
  • Teaching and training in public health microbiology

Teaching

• around 900 carefully selected students of 66 different nationalities.

The 42 courses run by the Institut Pasteur Education Center are undergraduate and graduate university training programmes and continuing education comprising highly developed practical work. The courses cover a wide spectrum of disciplines in microbiology, genomics, immunology, vaccinology, neuroscience, cell biology and different disciplines of epidemiology. They are designed for students of French and foreign universities, teaching hospitals, as well as working professionals, scientists, doctors and veterinarians who wish to complete their training. Certain courses lead to an inter-university diploma and several form part of the doctoral training in a number of Paris universities.

International Network of Pasteur institutes

The Institut Pasteur International Network brings together 32 institutes, united by the same missions, the same culture, and the same values.
They are spread over five continents

The institutes belonging to the network, including the Institut Pasteur in Paris, are extremely involved in public health in the countries in which they are located, in agreement with the local health authorities: medical biology, vaccinations, microbiological monitoring etc. The majority is recognised as reference centres on a national level or within the framework of the WHO. Education is another major mission of the institutes in the network which provide training for numerous trainees from the countries concerned and from abroad. The research carried out, in the field and in the laboratory, concerns infectious diseases (influenza, AIDS, arbovirus diseases, malaria, plague, etc.) affecting the host country. Through this network, the development of numerous diseases throughout the world is meticulously monitored by the Pasteur community.

Training opportunities

The EUPHEM fellow will have opportunities to participate in all the main activities carried out by the Institut Pasteur both in laboratories and at the Education Department and Center in addition to international collaborations with overseas institutions where appropriate. Based on the fellow's previous experience and interest, appropriate assignments, projects and training activities are arranged to fulfil the EUPHEM core competencies.

Training supervision

The EUPHEM fellow will be supervised by the main EUPHEM PHE coordinator for the period of his/her training. For specific tasks and assignments, the fellow will be supervised by the appropriate scientist/consultant for the particular project. 

Language requirements

English/French

Training history

Number of EUPHEM fellows trained at Institut Pasteur: 3

• Jessica Vanhomwegen, Cohort 2009

• Amrish Baidjoe, Cohort 2015

• Hilde Angermeier, Cohort 2018