The Genopole Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées was created in 1999 in response to the call from the Ministry of Research, in order to develop the facilities necessary to promote important interdisciplinary projects, to develop bioinformatics and to encourage innovation.

Today, it provides a regional network of research platforms in life sciences labelled iBiSA [national coordination of the life science platforms, www.ibisa.net], open to groups from both public and private sectors and involved in the technology development and innovation.

The Genopole platforms regroup staff and essential means from all the research organisations and higher education establishments.

It federates within GIS GENOTOUL (Scientific Interest Group) all the public organisations and the local territorial authorities concerned by life science innovation in Toulouse and its outlaying suburbs.

It attracts support from the Ministry of Research, the research and higher education establishments, the National Research Agency, foundations, the regional council and Europe.

For all the subjects

• Health
Cancer, Immunology, Epitheliums diseases, Infectious diseases, Metabolic disorders and Cardiovascular diseases
• Agronomy
Products quality, Food security
• Industry
Industrial microbiology
• Environement Biodiversity
In support of the local projects granted by the ITAV [Institute for Advanced Technology in Life Science] , poles of competitiveness, the RTRS [Thematic Network of Research and Care] of cancerology.

The regional network of platforms in life sciences also includes the CNRGV [National Plant Genomics Ressource Centre] in the genomic domain and an Imagery platform (TRI). The Genopole also welcomes a biostatistics platform mutualising the mathematical expertise for the analysis of post-genomic data. Thanks to the CPER [State-Region Project Contract], the network is to develop with new technologic platforms :

- Ligands screening ;
- Metabolomics-Fluxomics ;
- Combinatory High Throughput Screening of Engineered Enzymes;
- Living Animal Imagery.

Finally, the Genopole offers a Societal platform "Genetics and Society" to monitor bio-ethics aspects of projects.

The Genopole supports about thirty major projects backed up by the ANR (National Research Agency), the regional canceropole, the competitiveness cancer bio-health pole, the Europe.

With major results in :

•  Cancerology, fundamental research on the cell cycle, the identification of new diagnosis markers and new therapeutic targets.
•  Genetic diseases, (Netherton syndrome , hemochromatosis, rhumatoïd polyarthritis), leading to gene therapy perspectives.
•  Agronomy (Genetic determinism of the tomato fruit development, Pork meat quality).
•  Role that food has on health (cancer, food contaminants, obesity and cardiovascular diseases).

One of the ambition of the Genopole is to valorise the wealth and the diversity of the scientific and the industirial potentials of the region.

It can already point to concrete realizations :

•  In Bioinformatics (annotation and comparative analysis of several genomes, specialised databases and tools put at disposal).
•  In Nanobiotechnology with the development of new patented methods of biochips fabrication.
•  In Bioethics with the formulation of a European charter of correct ethical practices in industry...

Contact Monique Falières