Centre
of Immunology
and Microbial
Infections
The Centre for Immunology and Microbial Infections (Cimi) is a mixed research unit created in 2014. It is affiliated to Sorbonne University, Inserm and CNRS. The Cimi is located on the campus of Sorbonne University’s Faculty of Medicine at the Pitié-Salpêtrière site in Paris.
The location encourages a strong dynamic and interactions between the research teams and the hospital services. Approximately 150 people work at the Cimi, including researchers, teachers, technical personnel and research support staff.
The research conducted at the Cimi explores how the immune system functions and host-pathogen interactions, but also aims to develop immune-based therapeutic strategies and new ways to fight infectious diseases.
Topics: immunology, inflammation, immuno-oncology, microbiology, host-pathogen interactions, antibiotic resistance, vaccinology.
A word from the director of Cimi-Paris
Since its creation in January 2014, the Cimi has been developing research programmes dedicated to the development of knowledge in immunology and microbiology with the aim of preventing and curing infections, but also slowing and mitigating inflammatory processes.
Researchers are concerned with everything from molecules essential for immune function to whole organisms (microbes, mice and humans), from physiology to pathology, from disease models to the design of new therapeutic approaches.
Due to, among other things, its location within the Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, the Cimi maintains a unique environment that allows clinicians and scientists to collaborate and think together on human infectious diseases.
Biology and medicine are integrated to foster strong and productive interactions between basic and clinical research, facilitating the emergence of new concepts for therapeutic applications.
The 150 or so members of the Cimi pool their expertise in virology, bacteriology, parasitology, immunology and clinical research, with the aim of developing innovative, cutting-edge research in these fields.
Quality, originality and innovation of our research are thus guaranteed.
In this context, the Cimi has been able to react to major epidemic crises, particularly in the face of Zika, HIV, Ebola, Malaria and recently COVID-19.
The centre’s teams have been responsive and strong in federative proposals.
They have thus collaborated to study different facets of the pandemic virus and actively participate in the discoveries that allow us to better understand and combat the SARS-CoV-2.
The Cimi is therefore at the centre of the fight against infectious diseases, while maintaining strong values for the dissemination of knowledge and its applications, to the hospital environment and research, as well as for the training of future researchers, hospital researchers and practitioners.
Recent news
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Dr Behazine Combadière, a lead investigator at the Centre for Immunology and Infectious Diseases @INSERM is working on predicting the effectiveness of a vaccine against #HIV which is concurrently advancing the #CovidVaccine development research.
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