06/29/2010 - Launch of the AXA - HEC Chair for Decision Science
Professor Itzhak Gilboa, holder of the AXA-HEC Chair for Decision Science
The HEC Business School and the AXA Research Fund linked up to create a permanent Chair for Decision Science. Endowed with 1 million euros, this permanent chair will be held by the Israeli researcher Professor Itzhak Gilboa.
This chair will be devoted to sponsor individual research, workshops and conferences, bringing together researchers from various disciplines. It will thus help HEC strongly reinforce its research capacity in decision making and integrate the latest research developments into its highly recognized leadership training curriculum.
What is a good decision ?, Itzhak Gilboa, Magazine Echo #2
- Press kit (pdf)
06/14/2010 - Launch of the AXA-Ecole Polytechnique Chair in Cardiovascular Cellular Engineering
Professor Abdul Barakat, holder of the AXA Chair on Cardiovascular Cellular Engineering
The École Polytechnique and the AXA Research Fund linked up to create a permanent Chair for Cardiovascular Cellular Engineering (CCE) endowed with 3 millions euros and officially launched on June 14th 2010. This chair will be held by Professor Abdul Barakat, researcher at the Polytechnique's Hydrodynamics Laboratory (LadHyX), former Professor at the University of California, Davis. The major interest of this chair will be to build a bridge between mechanics and biology to formulate new approaches and thus fight against cardiovascular diseases, which remain the leading cause of mortality in the world.
« Heart disease and stroke are the two leading causes of death in Europe today. These diseases are caused by atherosclerosis, or thickening of the arterial walls which leads to arterial blockage by lipid-rich plaques.
In addition to genetic and lifestyle factors, there is a mechanical element related to arterial blood flow which is critical to the development of atherosclerosis. This is the focus of our cellular engineering approach which will enhance our understanding of the disease as well as lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies which will contribute to extending life expectancy.» Abdul Barakat
By endowing the École Polytechnique to create this permanent chair, the AXA Research Fund wanted to support an ambitious and cutting edge programme. Indeed the chair will for the first time study atherosclerosis through a transdisciplinary approach combining biology and engineering. It also aims to develop a new
generation of engineers sufficiently versed in biology to formulate original approaches to these diseases. This partnership expresses our wish both to encourage innovative science and to help institutions attract the best talent to reinforce their research and training capacity at the highest level.
Abdul Barakat interview, Magazine Echo #2
06/08/2010 - French "Académie des sciences" honors young researchers
L'Académie des sciences
Six young biologists are invited by the French Académie des sciences to exposed their work published in 2009-2010 in top worldwide publications.
The AXA Research Fund is happy to grant 2000 euros to each project holder.
Six selected projects by a jury (out of 79 applications in 2010):
1- le «sushi factor», un ensemble de gènes impliqués dans la digestion des algues rouges, transféré de bactéries marines vers la flore intestinale des Japonais. Ou comment une tradition alimentaire façonne la biodiversité microbienne, par Jan-Hendrik Hehemann et Gurvan Michel, Roscoff (Nature)
2- par quels mécanismes la bactérie Neisseria meningitidis, responsable de la méningite cérébrospinale, traverse la barrière hémato-encéphalique, par Mathieu Coureuil et Xavier Nassif, Paris (Science)
3- le fabuleux destin d'une cellule souche, ou comment la cellule souche contribue elle-même à la décision de son orientation future, par Sandrine Sarrazin et Michaël Siewecke, Marseille (Cell)
4- des plantes produisent des gamètes contenant la copie exacte du génome parental, ou comment transformer la méiose en mitose, par Isabelle d'Erfurth et Raphael Mercier, Versailles (PLoS Biology)
5- comment le cerveau renforce la mémoire pendant le sommeil. Première preuve expérimentale d'une hypothèse qui a vingt ans, par Gabrielle Girardeau et Michaël Zugaro, Paris (Nature Neuroscience)
6- par quels mécanismes une chimiothérapie anticancéreuse est aussi un traitement immunitaire, par François Ghiringhelli et Laurence Zitvogel, Villejuif (Nature Medicine)
08/07/2009 - Launch of the AXA-Paris Descartes Chair'A systems approach to individual differences in longevity'
Launch of the AXA-Paris Descartes Chair'A systems approach to individual differences in longevity'
On October 7th 2009, the AXA Research Fund, in collaboration with the Paris Descartes University has inaugurated the AXA-Paris Descartes Chair on longevity, endowed with €1.250.000 for a five-year period. For more details, please find the press release online.