Victoria Hein

Institute of NeuroPhysiopathology (INP)

The Institute of NeuroPhysiopathology (INP – UMR7051) was created on January 1st 2018 and is directed by Michel KHRESTCHATISKY. It is located in the Timone site of the Medical Faculty of Marseille and is supported by Aix-Marseille University (AMU) and the CNRS. The INP brings together 11 teams totalling 150 people, half of whom have permanent positions (statutory staff). The main objectives of the Institute are to study on a fundamental level, through animal and cell models (including reprogramming / iPS cell modelling), at different levels of integration (from molecular to animal models), and in various pathological contexts, the interactions between neuronal, glial, endothelial and immune cells, and their roles in the plasticity of neural networks, in biological clocks and in cognitive function. The teams of the Institute study during development and aging different conditions including Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative processes, glioblastoma, tumorigenesis, angiogenesis and alterations of the barrier blood brain (BBB). The INP teams promote the development of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, based in particular on the identification of biomarkers and therapeutic targets, on the development of new therapeutic molecules and on cell therapy strategies involving olfactory stem cells and iPS cells. The teams ambition valuation and partnership with the pharmaceutical industry, in particular through the creation of a "Joint Research Laboratory" with the biotechnology company VECT-HORUS. This partnership aims at developing new vectorisation strategies across the BBB into the CNS, and innovative therapeutic or imaging agents, that will benefit from such strategies to improve their brain delivery and efficacy.