Live and in public.
In ten minutes each, the chemist Charlène Esmieu, the biologist Emma Lefrançais and the biophysicist Étienne Dague will share the microphone to discuss the microscopic research they are carrying out in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) to understand the mechanisms of certain diseases and thus , advance medicine.
This “Microscopic journey into therapeutic terrain” is the name of the first event organized this Thursday, January 25 at 7 p.m. in Toulouse by the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) as part of its “Unexpected Escapes”.
Launched at the end of 2022 in the Paris region, these brief meetings, imagined in the form of micro-conferences or demonstrations, will be hosted in the Halles de la Cartoucherie once a month.
A hybrid and friendly place
In this hybrid place inaugurated in September 2023, which brings together former industrial workshops, restaurants, market stands, sports halls, bookstores and work spaces, the idea is to arouse the curiosity of different audiences and bring them to come and peck at science.
“Those who come to play sports, listen to music, who like gastronomy, friendly meetings, are likely to appreciate this moment of direct connection with researchers”, underlines Jocelyn Méré, CNRS Occitanie Ouest regional delegate for whom the The challenge is also to “make known high-quality scientists” from Toulouse and Occitan laboratories.
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For the first meeting of the year, the spotlight is on the Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology (IPBS).
It is in this joint unit of the CNRS and the University of Toulouse-III-Paul-Sabatier that Emma Lefrançais, doctor in molecular biology, continues her research on innate immunity and inflammatory pathologies of the lung, after five years of postdoctoral position in San Francisco.
One of its techniques is “intravital microscopy”, a tool that allows phenomena such as cell migrations and interactions with viruses or bacteria to be monitored in real time, directly in the lungs of living animals.
The risks of the heatwave on February 27
“The objective is to understand how the body defends itself against pathogens and what the mechanisms are so as to be able to develop new drugs,” explains Emma Lefrançais, who emphasizes that the use of the microscope has already enabled two discoveries that she will detail the same evening during his intervention.
The first concerns blood platelets which allow blood to clot but also play a role in immunity.
“We thought that platelets were only produced in the marrow, but it has been shown that they are also produced in the lungs, which raises new questions,” underlines the researcher.
On February 27, the next “Unexpected Escape” from the CNRS in Toulouse will focus on the levers to be used to prevent “heatwave” risks in the city.
It will bring together a meteorologist, an epidemiologist from Public Health France and an urban planner-climatologist from Toulouse Métropole.
Practical:
“Microscopic journey into therapeutic terrain”, this Thursday, January 25 at 7 p.m. at the Halles de la Cartoucherie, Esquirol room, 1st floor, 10, place de la Charte des Libertés Communales in Toulouse.