Climate change, population ageing, environmental degradation and the growing burden of respiratory diseases are global challenges that know no borders. Against this backdrop, IHU RespirERA, in partnership with Université Côte d’Azur, initiated a first historic meeting with Ashoka University (India).
This inaugural joint meeting marks the beginning of an ambitious collaboration within the France–India Campus framework. The goal is clear: combine expertise to accelerate research and deliver concrete solutions for better breathing tomorrow.
Environment and Ageing: Shared Challenges
One of the main pillars of this meeting focused on the impact of the environment on respiratory health. Researchers exchanged insights on several key topics:
- Pollution and climate: Understanding how air pollution affects the lung and skin microbiome, and modelling exposure to pollutants, an issue of critical importance in both India and France.
- The challenge of ageing: Analysing lung ageing and population frailty to develop anti-senescence strategies aimed at preserving respiratory capacity for as long as possible.
Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Serving Patients
To go beyond traditional medicine, IHU RespirERA and its partners are leveraging cutting-edge technologies. Presentations highlighted the use of artificial intelligence and Big Data to:
- Decode genetic regulatory networks through single-cell transcriptomics, which studies gene activity at the cellular level.
- Improve lung cancer diagnosis using AI-assisted analysis of radiological and histological images.
- Develop liquid biopsy, a less invasive method to detect and monitor thoracic cancers using a simple blood sample.
Towards a Holistic Approach: Nutrition and Prevention
Respiratory health extends beyond the lungs. Discussions also underlined the importance of an integrative approach, including:
- The role of nutrition: The impact of plant-based diets on asthma symptoms, notably through the NutriNet-Santé study.
- Cellular metabolism: How cellular energy processes may link diseases such as COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and lung cancer.
A Future-Oriented Collaboration
This meeting represents only the first step. It laid the groundwork for joint research projects and academic exchanges. The next major milestone is already planned: the organisation of an international congress in Nice.
By joining forces, French and Indian researchers reaffirm a shared ambition: to reduce the burden of respiratory diseases and improve patients’ quality of life worldwide.
