Manager: Professor Philip LAWRENC
Permanent members: Dr Lucie ABROUK, Dr Elisabeth CAZIER, Dr Christine CHEVALIER, Dr Marine CROZE, Dr Benoît DECHAUMET, Pr Emmanuelle GORMALLY, Dr Isabelle HARDY, Dr Marine HILLAIRE, Dr Brice LAGRANGE, Dr Nadjet LEBSIR, Dr Camille LEVY, Dr Mira MAALOUF, Dr Fanny ODET, Dr Thanh Nhat PHAM
Disciplines involved: Cellular Biology, Molecular Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Cancer, Virology, Public Health, Ethics
Topic and goals
This group’s research covers topics around both biology and the ethics of science and technology. The Biosciences researchers are interested in the impact of environmental factors on human health and biodiversity, with the environment covering both natural and anthropogenic factors. The goals are to study the ecophysiology of different vertebrates on the one hand and the combination of viral infection and exposure to toxins in humans on the other hand, in order to develop models and recommendations.
Biosciences raise ethical questions that can change the direction of research. That is why, following UCLy’s tradition of cross-disciplinarity, the ‘Biosciences, Technology and Ethics’ group also includes ethicists and philosophers, within the group or through contact with businesses, who carry out work related to the impact of biosciences, artificial intelligence and technologies on society, and particularly on the research community and on vulnerable populations.
Flagship project for 2020-2025
‘Interdisciplinary approach to the study of different ecosystems’
The project being conducted by the Biosciences, Technologies and Ethics research group for the next five years combines issues in animal and human biology with ethical questions. It involves studying the impact of environmental factors on biodiversity and human health, with the environment covering both natural and anthropogenic factors. Work will be carried out on the ecophysiology of different vertebrates as well as on the combination of viral infection and exposure to toxins in humans. This work could enable the development of models and proposals for ways to maintain ecosystems and prevent the development of liver cancer and chronic hepatitis in West Africa. The approaches used draw on animal and cellular models which allow different biomarkers to be identified, the underlying biological mechanisms to be revealed and the dynamics of the physiological state of the vertebrates studied to be clarified.