Project Overview

What is a long-term thematic project (PTL)?

A PTL is designed to develop initiatives aimed primarily at the teams that make up its core division:

• To bring together, among the consortium’s research units based at the Montpellier site, a diverse range of research expertise aimed at fostering new frontiers in science and generating new knowledge;
• To implement, over the long term, a high-level scientific initiative, guided by a streamlined and effective governance structure, and capable of contributing to the development of a framework centered on the PTL’s core theme;
• Support education in and for research at the PhD master's levels.

The PTL HiLight is open to all teams in the Biology and Health Research Cluster at the University of Montpellier.

PTL Highlight Theme

This project focuses on the study of living organisms at different scales of observation defined by their size—ranging from the meter to the nanometer—and aims to understand the various levels of organization: from the structure and dynamics of molecules and their role in cellular architecture and signaling, to the integration of these cells into organs and organisms.

We are taking on the challenge of understanding the dynamics of these systems regardless of the scale of observation and aim to integrate these levels of analysis. To this end, we are promoting 1) the development of innovative methodologies and 2) the practical applications made possible by these technological advances to address complex biological questions. Innovations in high-resolution spatial and temporal analysis of living systems in the fields of biology and health will provide solutions to medical and societal challenges. Cutting-edge research and innovation facilitated by these technologies will offer new approaches to disease prevention through novel detection and diagnostic methods, beginning with an understanding of how living organisms function and extending to the underlying causes of disease.

The PTL aims to promote methodological developments in three subthemes that are important for the spatiotemporal analysis of living organisms:

The PTLs of the Biology and Health Division

Following consultation with the Biology-Health community and discussions organized by the Biology-Health Cluster, two PTLs emerged and were approved by the University of Montpellier’s COMIS (Committee on Strategic and Structural Investments). The first concerns the development of new experimental models for the translational research of the future (called COSMIC); the second concerns the high-spatial- and temporal-resolution analysis of living organisms (called HiLight).

PTLs are valid for 5 years and may be renewed once.