CIIL - NEWSLETTER , January 2026 - N° 18

The University of Lille’s Graduate Programmes (PG) are initiatives designed to organise the university’s academic offering around key, unifying scientific themes. They bring together Master’s students, PhD students and researchers to address societal challenges identified as priorities. Their purpose is twofold: to enhance the university’s international appeal whilst raising the profile of the areas of excellence based at its Lille campuses. Drawing on interdisciplinary teams, the GP programmes sit at the intersection of education and research, and help to foster local, national and international partnerships. The aim is to bring together various study pathways from several Master’s programmes and different university departments. The objective is to build a robust, coherent and innovative interdisciplinary educational programme.

The ‘Inflammation and Infection’ research area is one of the cornerstones of the Lille site, underpinning the key strategic decisions that have been taken (FHU PRECISE and RESPIRE, CPER Resist-Omics, CPER ECRIN, France Vaccin, PEPR Inflammatory Diseases, PEPR Emerging Infectious Diseases, SF2I, etc.). In terms of research, the organisation into FHU and SFR SF2I clusters already brings together the key players in the field. This research also benefits from efforts to establish two major research units: the Institute for Translational Research on Inflammation (INFINITE), based at the Research Centre of Lille University Hospital, and the Lille Centre for Infection and Immunity (CIIL), based at the Pasteur Institute in Lille. These efforts are now converging towards the creation of an integrated Institute for Inflammatory and Infectious Diseases: I4Lille, combining clinical care, research and teaching.

As part of this, a new Graduate Programme, coordinated by Cécile Vignal (Infinite) and Sabrina Marion (CIIL), is currently being developed. This programme, entitled ‘Environmental and Societal Transitions and Therapeutic Innovations in Inflammatory and Infectious Diseases’ or PGI4, draws on the interdisciplinary institutes I4Lille and ITES, as well as several cross-disciplinary projects, such as Mosaic, Prime NextGene and Waters. This programme addresses the ‘One Health’ concept, which links human health, animal health and environmental quality. Contemporary health crises — antimicrobial resistance, environmental degradation, the emergence of pathogens and the rise in chronic inflammatory diseases — illustrate the need for a comprehensive approach that integrates the exposome, socio-exposome, climate change and socio-economic dynamics. PGI4 therefore aims to train students to understand these complex issues by adopting a systems-based approach.

The programme is primarily based on four complementary Master’s pathways:

a) Inflammation, Infection, Immunity (co-ordinators: Cécile Vignal and Sabrina Marion)

This specialisation offers a solid grounding in the biology and pathophysiology of inflammatory and infectious diseases. It aims to provide an understanding of the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms, resistance to treatment, and associated complications.

b) Quality, Environment, Health, Toxicology (coordinator: Franck-Olivier Denayer)

This specialisation provides essential skills in the assessment of health and environmental risks. Students learn to measure the impact of toxic substances (pollutants, pesticides, occupational or environmental contaminants) in various settings. This expertise is fundamental to understanding the environmental determinants of inflammatory and infectious diseases.

c) Health Economics (coordinator: Christine Leclainche)

Biomedical innovations are revolutionising clinical practice and healthcare systems, posing new economic, ethical and social challenges. This specialisation trains students to analyse the acceptability of innovations (diagnostic tools, vaccines, personalised treatments) and to design sustainable health policies in the face of demographic and technological transitions.

d) Health Law (Johanne Saison, Ana Zachayus)

This track provides a regulatory and legal framework for the study of contemporary public health issues, ranging from data protection to medical devices and prevention policies.

These four specialisations converge within a 30-hour transdisciplinary teaching module, designed to foster dialogue between students from different disciplines. The topics covered include, in particular:

• The ‘One Health’ concept in an era of transition
• Therapeutic innovations and their implications for the healthcare system.
• Digital health (artificial intelligence, data reuse, health data warehouses, new forms of nosology in the age of Big Data).
• The impact of social, economic and regional inequalities on the onset of inflammatory and infectious diseases, as well as on care pathways.

This interdisciplinary approach, bringing together biomedical sciences, environmental studies, social sciences, economics and health law, aims to prepare students to tackle the challenges posed by contemporary transitions. PGI4 thus seeks to contribute to a transformation of scientific, medical and societal practices.