Université Côte d’Azur – Laval University: A Historic Partnership Looking Toward the Future

In particular, the day of Thursday, April 23 provided an opportunity to reflect on the wealth of work accomplished over the past decade, as well as to explore new avenues for collaboration, pointing to a promising and highly stimulating future for the partnership.

Three highlights marked the event.
 

Prof. Michel Lazdunski Honored by Laval University

Laval University awarded an honorary doctorate to Professor Michel Lazdunski, a powerful symbol of the bond between the two institutions and the scientific legacy they share. Trained at Laval University, where he earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1962, Professor Michel Lazdunski went on to lead a remarkable scientific career spanning more than half a century.

  A member of the French Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea, and recipient of the CNRS Gold Medal, Michel Lazdunski is recognized as a pioneer of modern pharmacology . By shedding light on the mechanisms underlying complex phenomena such as pain, epilepsy, depression, certain cardiovascular diseases, and cystic fibrosis, his work paved the way for new therapeutic strategies.

He has also founded and directed several major CNRS research centers, notably in Nice and Sophia Antipolis, helping to create scientific environments of exceptional vitality.
Michel Lazdunski is not only a pioneer. He is also a builder, emphasizes Sophie D’Amours, Rector of Laval University.

The creation of the SYNAPSE laboratory

The international associated laboratory SYstèmes Neuroendocriniens : Adaptation, Plasticité, Signalisation et Environnement (SYNAPSE), the result of a long-standing collaboration between the IPMC (Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, and Inserm) and the Faculty of Pharmacy at Laval University, is dedicated to studying brain-body interactions in response to the growing global challenges of metabolic and mental diseases. It specifically addresses the following issues:  

• The prevention of chronic societal diseases linked to lifestyle and the environment;
• Reducing health inequalities by understanding the biological and social determinants of metabolism and behavior;
• The transition to precision medicine focused on biological signatures;
• Adapting healthcare systems to the increasing prevalence of metabolic, cognitive, and affective disorders.

The SYNAPSE laboratory will be co-directed by Dr. Carole Rovère, an Inserm research fellow at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology (IPMC), and Dr. Alexandre Caron, an associate professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Laval University and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Neurometabolic Pharmacology.
   

Partnership Renewed for Five Years

The renewal of the partnership is accompanied by a strategic plan structured around high-impact thematic areas:
 
These various initiatives, which serve as powerful drivers of impact, reflect the shared vision of both universities: to make this partnership a laboratory for academic innovation, driven by its communities, with the ambition of strengthening our collective capacity to act in favor of a more sustainable future .