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Press release
Bernard Pau has been appointed Director of the CNRS Department of Life Sciences | |||
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Paris, April 22, 2002 |
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Pau, Professor of Immunology and Biotechnology at Université Montpellier
1 and Director of the "Institut de Biotechnologie et Pharmacologie"
(managed jointly by the CNRS, Université Montpellier 1, and the company
BioRad), has been appointed Director of the CNRS Department of Life Sciences,
as of April 22, 2002, by Geneviève Berger, Director-General of the
CNRS. He succeeds Jacqueline Godet, who has been called to take up other
duties. Born on April 12, 1951, in Tunis, Bernard Pau is a chemical engineer (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier). He holds a doctorate in biochemistry (Université des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, Montpellier) and attended the Institut Pasteur (Paris). He also earned a doctorate in immunology (Montpellier) and an aggregation in pharmaceutical sciences (Paris). After beginning his career in 1975 in industry (Coulter Group) and then contributing to the development of immunological research at the Sanofi Group, Bernard Pau took up a university post in 1983. Since then, he has combined teaching, training, innovative research, and partnerships for economic development. Since 1992, he has led the "Immunoanalyse et Innovation en Biologie Clinique" (Immuno-analysis and Innovation in Clinical Biology unit, run jointly by Université Montpellier 1, CNRS, and Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur) and, since 1999, the "Institut de Biotechnologie et Pharmacologie" (Institute of Biotechnology and Pharmacology, CNRS, Université Montpellier 1, and BioRad). His pioneering career at the interface between state-funded research and the world of industry also boasts the setting up of a pharmaceutical innovation firm devoted to diabetes treatment (Innodia). Bernard Pau took part in the work of the "Recherche – Médicament" (Research – Medicines) inter-ministerial group (1999), which recommended implementing a strong French and European policy to boost biotechnological and pharmaceutical research. Bernard Pau is the author of 120 international publications and patents in the fields of immunology, biotechnology, and pharmacology. His work and that of his team have led to the industrial development of some fifteen innovative products (bioreagents) including several world firsts. His passion for writing and philosophical reflection led Bernard Pau to publish Poussières de conscience (Essais et nouvelles, Ed. Alpha Bleue, Paris) in 1989. He is a member of the French national bioethics advisory committee. The Department of Life Sciences is one of the eight scientific departments of the CNRS. With 3,202 researchers, 2,708 engineers, technicians, and administrative staff, 379 research units and pooled structures, a budget excluding staff costs of 65,214 million euros exclusive of VAT in 2002, the Department of Life Sciences represents about one fourth of CNRS resources. The research conducted by the Department aims to understand the structure and workings of genomes and macromolecules, to analyze the major functions of the body, and to study pathogenic agents, changes in biodiversity, and the workings of ecosystems. Department
of Life Sciences, Press contact
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