Professor Pierre-Antoine Gourraud, a recognized specialist in the fields of immunology, genetics and bioinformatics, leaves his position of Associate Professor at the University of San Francisco to join the Urology Nephrology Transplantation Institute (ITUN) of Nantes University Hospital.
Graduate of the French Ecole Normale Supérieure, doctor of biology, Pierre-Antoine Gourraud stands at the crossroads of immunology and genetics by his creation of a massive data processing approach by bioinformatics. On the 1st of September 2015, he joined ITUN, the center for immunology and transplantation research, funded by Nantes University Hospital, Nantes University and INSERM.
Previously an assistant at Toulouse hospitals, it was in California, where he settled in 2009, and where, from his research in immunology and genetics about multiple sclerosis, that he refined and developed a unique approach to personalized medicine for complex diseases. “Analyzing the data and modeling them in order to better understand the diversity and complexity of life, are fundamental issues in tomorrow’s biology and medicine ” explains Pierre-Antoine Gourraud. “We are working so that each patient can receive all the information collected on others before him, in order to better understand the disease and choose the right treatment strategy at the right time.” Also an entrepreneur, he is involved in the creation of two companies, one in France in 2008, Methodomics, and one in the United States in 2014, Mira-medicine. He currently works with several investment funds specializing in biotechnology.
Attracted by the dynamism of ITUN and CESTI IHU, he wanted to join Nantes university community. “In Nantes, decades of scientific excellence ensured a wealth of clinical, immunological and genetic information on several types of transplants as well as on autoimmunity in multiple sclerosis. The Nantes scientific community is an ideal integration site for me, it is a stimulating environment for world-class research.” he explains.
For his relocation to Nantes, Professor Gourraud received support from, not only:
- Nantes University through a Professorial job creation (PU-PH),
- Inserm, of which he is the ATIP-Avenir winner,
- Nantes University Hospital,
- but also the Region Pays de la Loire,
- and Nantes Métropole.
“Through Talent Connect*, and funding provided by the Region and by Nantes Métropole, I will benefit from means and support that are equal to American research provision.”
* Launched for the first time in 2013, the international call for projects, “Talent Connect” is a regional arrangement that aims to strengthen the dynamism of research programmes in the Pays de la Loire Region focusing on two priorities: to attract new talent and to develop the potential of this area.