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Teams

The FRAP network unites 15 core and 7 associated research teams across France, combining fundamental science (teams 1–8), translational research (teams 9–13), and transversal expertise in bioinformatics and artificial intelligence (teams 14–15) to accelerate discoveries against pancreatic cancer.

Team 1: MICROPANC

“Microenvironment and therapeutic resistance in pancreatic neoplasms”
  • Principal Investigator: Corinne Bousquet (INSERM, CRCT Toulouse)
  • Overview: MICROPANC studies how pancreatic tumors interact with their surrounding stroma to develop resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The team focuses on cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and their communication with tumor and immune cells.
  • Research Focus:
    • Using patient-derived xenografts (PDX) and immunocompetent mouse models.
    • Transcriptomics, spatial profiling, and matrisome analysis.
    • Functional validation of tumor-stroma interactions in 3D organoid co-cultures.
  • Collaborations & Impact: Integrated within CRCT Toulouse, partnering with clinicians, IRIT (AI analysis), LAAS (organ-on-chip), and industry partners including Roche, BMS, and Amgen. Focus on translating findings into therapies.
  • Website: https://www.crct-inserm.fr/micropanc/

Team 2: DISARM

“Tumor-Stromal cells dialogue and Metabolic reprogramming in pancreatic cancer”

Team 3: I-Biot

“Immunoregulation and Biotherapy”
  • Principal Investigator: Ilaria Cascone (INSERM U955, Institute for Biomedical Research, University of Paris Est)
  • Overview: I-Biot studies immune regulation in pancreatic and hematological cancers to enhance immunotherapy efficacy.
  • Research Focus:
    • Targeting immunosuppressive cells (Tregs, MDSCs, TAMs).
    • Single-cell transcriptomics of tumor-infiltrating immune cells.
    • Testing immunomodulatory therapies in mouse models.
  • Collaborations & Impact: Integrated with the Mondor Institute (IMRB), national and international partnerships, access to cutting-edge genomics and imaging platforms.
  • Website: https://imrb.inserm.fr/equipes/j-cohen/

Team 4: SIIC

“Stromal Immune Interactions in Cancer”
  • Principal Investigator: Ana Hennino (INSERM U1052 CNRS5286, CRCL Lyon)
  • Overview: SIIC explores how stromal components in tumors modulate immune activity, focusing on βig-h3-mediated immune suppression and microenvironment stiffness.
  • Research Focus:
    • Interaction between stromal cells and immune cells.
    • Development of therapeutic antibodies (StromaCare biotech).
    • Mechanistic studies of stroma-induced chemoresistance.
  • Collaborations & Impact: Fully integrated within CRCL Lyon, collaborating with clinical partners and translational teams. Focused on innovative stromal-targeting therapies.
  • Website: https://www.crcl.fr/en/research-teams/oncopharmacology/jordheim-dumontets-team-a-henninos-group/

Team 5: CANTHER

“CANcer, heterogeneity, plasticity and resistance to THERapies”
  • Principal Investigator: Isabelle Van Seuningen (INSERM UMR9020 CNRS-U1277, Lille)
  • Overview: CANTHER investigates mechanisms underlying tumor heterogeneity and chemoresistance, with a focus on pancreatic cancer.
  • Research Focus:
    • Role of MUC4 and RTK signaling in tumor-stroma interactions.
    • 3D organoid and microfluidic co-culture models.
    • Epigenetic regulation and predictive biomarkers.
  • Collaborations & Impact: Embedded in ONCOLille, with translational access to patient material and collaborations in bioinformatics, pharmacology, and cohort studies.
  • Website: https://www.canther.fr

Team 6: NACRe 02

Nutrition Growth Cancer Unit
  • Principal Investigator: Stephane Servais (INSERM UMR1069, Tours)
  • Overview: Focused on cancer-induced malnutrition/cachexia, studying host metabolism and its impact on treatment outcomes.
  • Research Focus:
    • Mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue.
    • Mechanisms of myosteatosis and metabolic dysfunction in PDAC.
    • Translational studies to improve clinical management.
  • Collaborations & Impact: International collaboration with University of Alberta; aims to inform clinical interventions in cachexia.
  • Website: https://www.reseaunacre.eu/le-reseau-nacre/membres-nacre/equipe-nacre-02-nutrition-croissance-et-cancer

Team 7: Exposome and Heredity

  • Principal Investigators: Gianluca Severi / Therese Truong (INSERM U1018, CESP)
  • Overview: Investigates how environmental exposures and genetic background interact to influence cancer risk.
  • Research Focus:
    • Lifecourse exposome and lifestyle factors.
    • Omics integration to identify pre-diagnosis biomarkers.
    • Population-based cohort studies (E3N-Generations, EPIC, UK Biobank).
  • Collaborations & Impact: Large-scale international epidemiology studies; translational potential for cancer prevention.
  • Website: https://cesp.inserm.fr/fr/node/3

Team 8: EQUITY

  • Principal Investigator: Cyrille Delpierre (UMR 1295 CERPOP)
  • Overview: Focuses on social determinants of health and inequalities in care, particularly in cancer pathways.
  • Research Focus:
    • Life course and embodiment of social factors.
    • Healthcare access and efficiency analysis.
    • Methodological innovations in social epidemiology.
  • Collaborations & Impact: Collaborates with national health databases and population studies; informs health policy.
  • Website: https://cerpop.inserm.fr/cyrille-delpierre-biographie

Team 9: ImPACT

“Therapeutic innovation in pancreatic cancer”
  • Principal Investigator: Pierre Cordelier (INSERM, CRCT Toulouse)
  • Overview: Develops gene therapy, virotherapy, and precision medicine approaches in PDAC.
  • Research Focus:
    • Gene expression remodeling and resistance to DNA-breaking agents.
    • Intracellular antibodies targeting oncogenic proteins.
    • Mechanisms of resistance to oncolytic viruses.
  • Collaborations & Impact: CRCT Toulouse, clinical translational partnerships, preclinical industry collaborations (NeoVirTech, Roche-Genentech).
  • Website: https://www.crct-inserm.fr/impact/

Team 10: PaCa3TR

“Translational and Therapeutic Research in Pancreatic Cancer”
  • Principal Investigators: Nelson Dusetti / Juan Iovanna (INSERM UMR1068, CNRS UMR7258, CRCM Marseille)
  • Overview: Focused on identifying key drivers of PDAC and developing new therapeutic strategies.
  • Research Focus:
    • Multi-omics characterization of over 250 preclinical PDAC models.
    • Translational research integrating molecular signatures and drug discovery.
    • Biomarker identification for therapy response prediction.
  • Collaborations & Impact: CRCM Marseille, international consortia, early clinical translation.
  • Website: https://crcm-marseille.fr/en/translate-it-department/translational-and-therapeutic-research-in-pancreatic-cancer/

Équipe 11 : Neuzillet

  • Principal Investigator: Cindy Neuzillet (CNRS 144, Institut Curie, Paris)
  • Overview: Studies host-tumor-microenvironment interactions in pancreatic and biliary tract cancers.
  • Research Focus:
    • CAFs and microbiota in tumor heterogeneity.
    • Translational studies integrating human samples, organoids, and mouse models.
    • Biomarker development for therapy response.
  • Collaborations & Impact: Institut Curie, APHP hospitals, national and international PDAC research networks.
  • Website: https://institut-curie.org/person/cindy-neuzillet

Team 12: Personalized medicine, pharmacogenomics and therapeutics optimization

  • Principal Investigators: Pierre Laurent-Puig / Jean-Baptiste Bachet (Centre de recherche des Cordeliers, Paris)
  • Overview: Focuses on tumor heterogeneity, biomarker discovery, and therapy optimization in digestive and other solid tumors.
  • Research Focus:
    • Intra- and inter-tumor heterogeneity analysis.
    • Circulating tumor DNA biomarkers and precision medicine.
    • Translational genomics applied to pancreatic cancer.
  • Collaborations & Impact: Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, CHIC platform, translational oncology networks.
  • Website: https://crcordeliers.fr/en/personalized-medicine-and-pharmacogenomics-group-2/

Team 13: INDiD

“From inflammation to cancer in digestive diseases”
  • Principal Investigators: Jérôme Cros (INSERM UMR1149, Paris)
  • Overview: Investigates how inflammation triggers digestive tract cancers, particularly pancreatic and liver tumors.
  • Research Focus:
    • Inflammatory signaling in epithelial and stromal compartments.
    • Microbiota-cancer interactions.
    • Translational models for therapy testing.
  • Collaborations & Impact: Integrated with Beaujon hospital group, part of FHU MOSAIC and SIRIC InSiTu.
  • Website: https://cri1149.fr/en//equipes/haumaitre-cros

Team 14: GeNeTX

“Translational genomics of pancreatic neoplasia heterogeneity”
  • Principal Investigator: Remy Nicolle (INSERM ATIP, Paris)
  • Overview: Applies computational and systems biology to study tumor heterogeneity and develop predictive genomic biomarkers.
  • Research Focus:
    • Multi-omics and spatial analyses in PDAC.
    • Computational pathology and AI for prognostic/theranostic signatures.
    • Translational genomics from bench to clinical applications.
  • Collaborations & Impact: FHU MOSAIC, SIRIC InSiTu, Beaujon Hospital, contributing to national PDAC precision medicine.
  • Website: https://cri1149.fr/equipes/nicolle/

Team 15: NetB(IO)²

“Network Biology For Immuno-Oncology”
  • Principal Investigator: Vera Pancaldi (INSERM, CRCT Toulouse)
  • Overview: Investigates immune-tumor interactions in pancreatic cancer using network biology, multi-omics, and spatial analyses to improve therapy response prediction.
  • Research Focus:
    • Network modeling of intercellular interactions.
    • Epigenomics and chromatin 3D structure in tumor-immune phenotypes.
    • Multi-omics and spatial data integration for precision immunotherapy.
  • Collaborations & Impact: CRCT Toulouse, national and international research networks, contributing to immunotherapy development pipelines.
  • Website: https://www.crct-inserm.fr/netbio2/