A delegation from the Institut Pasteur will visit San Francisco during the week of February 28 to March 2, 2023, to present a series of events and workshops that will provide an overview of the Institut Pasteur-UCSF QBI partnership (Institut Pasteur-University of California, San Francisco, Quantitative Biosciences Institute). These events will also promote the establishment of a Center of Excellence between San Francisco and Paris for the study of emerging infectious diseases.
The first day of the three-day visit will feature scientific presentations and an introduction to the research teams, laboratories and startups based on the UCSF campus (see program). UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, Science and Technology Counselor for the French Embassy Mireille Guyader, and the Consul General of France in San Francisco Frédéric Jung will welcome the delegation, led by Institut Pasteur President Prof. Sir Stewart Cole, together with a large audience, for open discussions about the scientific challenges and benefits of collaboration between these two renowned research institutions on either side of the Atlantic.
On the second day, the delegation will meet with students at the Lycée français in San Francisco for a hands-on workshop organized in collaboration with the school's biology teachers. The exhibition celebrating the bicentenary of Louis Pasteur's birth and presenting the history of the Institut Pasteur will also be inaugurated at the Lycée français.
Over these two days, various meetings will be held with institutions in the dynamic ecosystem of bioscience and biotech startups and with the French-American Chamber of Commerce to help position the Center of Excellence in the local landscape and to discuss the organization of future joint events.
A fundraising event at the Residence de France (Consul’s Residence) will bring the three-day trip to a close.
About the establishment of the Institut Pasteur-UCSF QBI Center of Excellence in Emerging Infectious DiseasesAt a ceremony on October 21, 2022 in Paris, the Institut Pasteur and the University of California San Francisco's Quantitative Biosciences Institute announced a new partnership for the joint establishment of the Institut Pasteur-UCSF QBI Center of Excellence in Emerging Infectious Diseases. The MOU was signed by Professor Stewart Cole, President of the Institut Pasteur, and Professor Sam Hawgood, Chancellor of UC San Francisco (represented by Dr. Nevan Krogan, Director of the UCSF Quantitative Biosciences Institute). Find out more: "Institut Pasteur Welcomes New, Comprehensive Relationship With UCSF QBI" The Institut Pasteur-UCSF QBI Center of Excellence will be focused on the study of emerging infectious diseases, with a series of joint operations planned between San Francisco and Paris. The Center will develop and apply advanced technologies, laboratories and facilities to investigate the fundamentals of (re)-emerging infectious diseases, positioning itself to offer a rapid response in the event of an outbreak. The Center's mission will be multifaceted:
By linking the Institut Pasteur's expertise with UCSF QBI's research structures, the Center will aim to develop new high-quality research programs resulting in innovative healthcare applications.  |
Institut Pasteur and UCSF QBI Center of Excellence: why work together?
The Institut Pasteur's knowledge on pathogens and their hosts will be combined with cutting-edge methods for quantifying the biophysical and biochemical properties of host-pathogen interactions developed by QBI, resulting in insights about how infectious agents hijack and rewire the host during infection. These advances will pave the way for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
Collaboration between scientists at the Institut Pasteur and QBI was instrumental in the success of the QBI Coronavirus Research Group (QCRG) during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to several impactful publications as well as a series of drug candidates for COVID-19. The infrastructure and collaborative spirit that is now in place provide a framework for the study of multiple infectious agents and antimicrobial resistance as well as the establishment of the Institut Pasteur-UCSF QBI Center of Excellence in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
As well as benefitting from transatlantic cooperation between Paris and San Francisco, the center will be part of extensive collaborative networks around the globe. As a member of the Pasteur Network, the Institut Pasteur collaborates with 32 member institutes worldwide. The UCSF QBI also has a network of 33 institutions around the world. With direct access to both of these networks, the center will be in a unique position for worldwide exchanges of data and expertise.
The partnership with UCSF-QBI in the United States is part of the cooperative dynamic the Institut Pasteur is building by developing agreements with leading scientific institutions in various countries worldwide.
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