Teams of the first work package study the interactions between environment and epithelial inflammation, with particular emphasis on the mucosal barrier.
Our work is focused on the mechanisms of action and regulation of environmental factors in inflammatory processes.

Lines of research

Our research is looking to better understand mucosal diseases and to prevent the inflammation or to reduce/contain inflammatory symptoms when the disease is established. The overall objective is to understand how inflammation can be modulated in epithelial diseases in order to reinforce the epithelial barrier and to develop new clinical approaches for these conditions.

We test new nutritional components, most of them derived from mother’s milk we a specific focus on the windows of the first 1000 days of life and consequences on teen- and adulthood (Nutritional modulation of inflammation). We use innovative models in order to reinforce the mucus gel barrier or to decrease its viscosity (Mucus barrier). Our team’s work addresses a growing interest from the scientific community in the impact of environmental factors on inflammatory diseases, including IBDs. We aim to highlight environmental risk factors implicated in IBD development or perpetuation by focusing on the effects of atmospheric and dietary pollutants on intestinal inflammation and dysbiosis (Effects of atmospheric and dietary pollutants on intestinal inflammation and dysbiosis) and on the pathobiont-symbiont balance by studying AIEC bacteria in IBDs (Microbes and intestinal homeostasis).

We explore the predisposition and environmental cause in the genesis and perpetuation of IBDs and we evaluate further therapeutic issues using epidemiologic analysis. One approach uses the unique Epimad population-based registry to further identify environmental risk factors through ecologic correlation studies (IBD and environmental factors: epidemiological studies). The impact of the nutrition in the window of the first 1000 days of life on the gut health of 3-4 yr kids is also under investigation (Pensine).

A research program from bench to bed and bed to bench

Our work is widely shared with the scientific community, our clinical partners and private companies to accelerate the development of new treatments.