Cross-Labs

UNDERSTANDING AND INNOVATING TOGETHER

In 2017, we secured funding for a Cross-Lab on autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It brought together the immunology and genetics laboratories, as well as the Institut Imagine platforms.  This then enabled us to lay the foundations for ATRACTion with 10 academic and industrial partners.  This innovative and large-scale project has been labeled “Hospital-University Health Research” as part of the Investissement d’Avenir program in 2020. Its objective: to reduce misdiagnoses and improve the prognosis of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in order to change patients’ lives by identifying the most suitable treatments.

Dr Frédéric Rieux-Laucat, Head of a Laboratory at the Institut Imagine

The Project

“Cross-Labs” is an internal funding program created by the Institut Imagine to encourage cross-functional projects within research laboratories and give strong momentum to the most innovative projects.
Specifically, it ensures the initiation of projects by offering researchers an environment that encourages risk-taking and ambitious research (the only eligibility condition of which is to combine laboratories and rare disease reference centers of expertise).
As of June 1st, 2020, 5 cross-labs projects have been launched since the creation of the program in 2017. They involve a total of 14 laboratories, 7 reference centers for rare diseases, and around 10 technological platforms.
They involve different areas such as developmental and pathological cell death in fetal and postnatal microcephaly, or the application of artificial intelligence to dysmorphology.
By 2028, the Institut Imagine aims to set up 7 new cross-labs to make more and faster progress in developing treatments for children with genetic diseases.

Context & Objectives

“Cross-labs” is a crucial program in the development of the Institut Imagine’s unique ecosystem in terms of innovation and value creation.

By covering its funding internally, the Institut Imagine creates a leverage effect, ensuring the necessary initial funding to subsequently obtain, larger national and European public funding.

Thanks to this, researchers and doctors from different disciplines may collaborate and, in doing so, have a much broader impact and promote their results beyond their research niche.

The idea is to research together to benefit as many people as possible.

Cross-labs projects are an additional source of hope for families affected by genetic diseases.

Amount to fund
3,500 K€
Overall funding

/ 375 K€: For each of the 7 New Cross-Labs

/ 500 K€: For the Cross-Lab total funding including overhead costs

Each Cross-lab – or even the entire program – may take the name of the Patrons who will be invited, if they wish so, to participate in their selection from the projects applying.