Platforms and Innovation

Support & Output

Aims

The WP “ Platforms and Innovation” of ONCOAGE aims at providing an integrated technological and clinical framework to support personalized and targeted medicine and care dedicated to aged patients and to patients suffering of age-related diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases.

Leader name(s)

Dr. G. Cristofari
Pr. M. Ilié
Dr. P. Barbry

General description

To deliver the best care and the most appropriate treatments to patients, in the context of personalized medicine, we propose to build an integrated technological and clinical framework. This will allow the development of innovative tools to improve patient diagnosis, care and treatment with early access to these tools, by a continuum starting from patient to biological and technical experimentation and back to patient, relying on:

  1. the availability of clinical platforms to facilitate access to patients for academic and industrial partners in medical or medico-social environments for rapid testing of products & services;
  2. standardized practice for collecting and storing samples for biological resources collections (bio bank CHU-Nice).
  3. the possibility to analyse patient and patient samples by cutting-edge exploratory techniques, from the whole body (ultrasounds, MRI) to the molecular (IPMC & IRCAN genomics platforms, INCa molecular oncology platform) and the tissue levels (biopathology platform, IRCAN & iBV experimental histology platforms), including single-cell analyses (IRCAN Cytomed, IRCAN microscopy (PICMI) and IPMC genomics platforms);
  4. the tight integration of academic teams in the clinical environment, to booster biomarker and target discoveries and promote clinical trials, including of non pharmacological tools (3 reference centres CHU-Nice, clinical and technological platforms with human science and ICT technology expertise);
  5. the ability to develop and transfer cutting-edge technologies from an academic environment to routine clinical use, through training and access to this equipment;
  6. the development of non-invasive analytical technologies, requiring as little as possible biological material (single cell analysis, automation, liquid biopsy, cytometry, ICT);
Task Title
Development of low invasive technologies
Task Description

The ability to perform analyses from a very small amount of biological material is key to allow regular patient follow-up, in a preventive and diagnostic context, but also to assess the efficacy of a therapy. We aim at implementing:

  1. single-cell genomic approaches, including library preparation automation;
  2. a liquid biopsy laboratory;
  3. coupling high-content analyses (dynamic live cell imaging, high-throughput assays) with theoretical and computational methods.
Task Improvement
  • Improvement of diagnosis, care and research by reducing invasiveness and increasing the number and type of analyses, which can be performed with a unique sampling.
  • Creation of a liquid biopsy laboratory at the CHUN
  • Reachable in 1 year
Task Title
Integration of platforms and practice
Task Description

To promote integration of the different platforms, we will:

  1. accelerate the clustering of existing platforms, such as the IRCAN platforms in the PEMED-PCV building;
  2. promote the development of standardized practice for collecting and storing the samples to ensure quality and compatibility with most types of analyses;
  3. coordinate the use of common analytical processes (bioinformatics pipelines, automated imaging);
  4. develop innovative personalized cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of cancers using the Gene and Cell therapy platform (UTCG)
  5. develop the practical training of medical staff to technological processes.
Task Improvement
  • Improvement of care, research and teaching by promoting best experimental practice and providing standardized analytical processes
  • Creation of an Experimental Biopathology laboratory with new imaging integration processes at the CLCC CAL (B1)
  • Reachable in 3 year
Task Title
Design and assessment of innovative ICT technologies through clinical trials
Task Description

The development of a synergy of the existing platforms for the care of patients with disabilities related to ageing (Fragility platform, Gerontology platform, Living Lab PAILLON 2020) or age-related neuromuscular, cognitive & behavioural disorders (CENTA, Institute Claude Pompidou, CoBTeK) will allow:

  1. to improve assessment, stimulation and quality of life of patient and caregiver by providing existing prevention strategies and technological solutions to reduce the impact of ageing and/or disabilities on daily life activities;
  2. to enhance interactions between academic and industrial partners in order to develop innovative strategies and concrete solutions, in the field of informatics, home sensors, and communication;
  3. to spread the knowledge about existing and innovative technologies and solutions to physicians, researchers, patients, caregivers and general population;
  4. to foster links between technology research, human and social science.
Task Improvement
  • Development and evaluation of non-pharmacological tools.
  • Experimentation pand clinical research projects led by the CIU-santé association and the UNS CoBTeK unit to improve care and quality of life of seniors and people with disability.
  • Increase platforms visibility for academics and researchers who would like to take part of the experimentation and evaluation process.
  • Reachable in 5 years