Sorbonne and Fiocruz discuss prospects for collaboration

For a week, French was the second most spoken language at Fiocruz. A delegation from the Sorbonne University visited the Foundation from the 23rd to the 27th of october to discuss prospects for collaboration. In addition to the meetings between the directors, a five-day seminar promoted scientific sessions that brought researchers from both sides closer together. Covering subjects ranging from neuromuscular diseases to immunotherapy with CAR-T cells, they led to a starting point for building a cooperation plan around four main themes: rare diseases, wastewater, popularization of science and digital health.

Delegation met at the Fioruz Official Residence with the vice-presidents of Education, Information and Communication, Cristiani Machado, and of Research and Biological Collections, Maria de Lourdes Oliveira (photo: Peter Ilicciev)

Led by the Vice President of International Relations, Territorial and Socioeconomic Partnerships, Guillaume Fiquet, the six-person delegation arrived accompanied by the Science and Technology Attaché at the French Embassy in Brazil, Nacer Boubenna. After visiting the Mourisco Castle, they met at the Official Residence with the vice-presidents of Education, Information and Communication (VPEIC), Cristiani Machado, and of Research and Biological Collections (VPPCB), Maria de Lourdes Oliveira, as well as the special advisor to the Presidency for Cooperation with French Institutions, Wilson Savino, among other participants.

"This is an opportunity for our researchers from different units to meet and talk so that our connection becomes even stronger in the years to come", said Cristiani Machado. At her side, Maria de Lourdes Oliveira emphasized the importance of the cooperation between the two institutions, "not only in the education field, but also in research". "It is a precious opportunity to exchange experiences", she added, emphasizing the need to combine knowledge in order to tackle health challenges.

Fiquet, for his part, considered "this a key moment for the partnership". He highlighted his interests in health and the environment. "We have the responsibility to do something, we have to connect people, and I am very excited". "We are not a shell. We have everything to succeed in this partnership". added Christopher Cripps, advisor to the Sorbonne's president for Global Engagement and Diplomatic Affairs. Boubenna, for his part, stressed that Fiocruz is among the priorities for collaboration and that the French embassy wants to help growing it.

Scientific Roundtables

While the meeting at the Official Residence was in English, the seminar was in Portuguese and French, with simultaneous translation, so that everyone could express themselves with more freedom. The first day was broadcast from the Maria Deane Auditorium at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, and whose theme was Sorbonne University: Prospects for Cooperation with Fiocruz.

It was up to Fiquet to present how Sorbonne works and its partnerships with educational and research institutions abroad. Founded in 1257, Sorbonne is considered one of the best universities in the world and has more than 52,000 students, in 53 bachelor's and 33 master's programs. Cristiani, in turn, explained the various roles that Fiocruz plays, including the similarities with universities and the student mobility programs, such as Capes-Print, in which France is the fourth destination for the Foundation's researchers. Another possibility emphasized by the Sorbonne delegation would be using the Capes/Cofecube program (French Committee for the Evaluation of University Cooperation with Brazil) to draw up proposals involving Fiocruz and the French university.

Led by the vice-president of International Relations, Territorial and Socioeconomic Partnerships, Guillaume Ficat, the delegation of six people arrived accompanied by the Science and Technology Attaché of the French Embassy in Brazil, Nacer Boubenna (photo: Peter Ilicciev)

Joint supervision

On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, the discussions in the scientific sessions were more specific, with each side showing the work being carried out in the areas of infectious diseases, wastewater; rare diseases; neuromuscular diseases; funding possibilities; digital health, molecular modeling and machine learning; PhD and innovation projects, and public health and global health. Vincent Marechal, director of the Wastewater Epidemiological Observatory (OBEPINE), for example, was finally able to meet the researcher Sérgio Luz from Fiocruz Amazônia in person and discuss common interests.

The popularization of science was a subject that attracted a lot of attention from Sorbonne, as well as the fight against fake news and digital health, fields that have greatly advanced during the pandemic. From the work meeting that concluded the week of discussions emerged proposals that a group from each institution should work together to advance in the development of a cooperation plan, initially involving rare diseases, wastewater, popularization of science and digital health. Over time, other themes should be incorporated. A proposal for a jointly supervised postgraduate course should take shape by the end of the year.