Physics for Medicine Paris (Inserm/ESPCI Paris/PSL Université/CNRS) has been named the Foundation’s latest Center of Excellence. The site becomes the third Center of Excellence in Europe, and the eighth worldwide. The team was established in January 2007, under the direction of Mickael Tanter, PhD.
The Center of Excellence’s scientific director is Jean-François Aubry, PhD, a previous Focused Ultrasound Foundation fellow.
Established in 2009, the Centers of Excellence program brings together the best people and technical resources at luminary sites. The Centers are created through partnerships of academia, industry, and the Foundation to showcase the technology and serve as hubs for collaboration.
On December 5, 2019, Physics for Medicine Paris hosted an inaugural event to mark the site’s distinction as a Center of Excellence. In attendance were site leaders as well as notable government representatives, including:
- Catherine Baratti-Elbaz, Mayor of the 12th district of Paris
- Marie-Christine Lemardeley, deputy Mayor of the city of Paris in charge of higher education and research
- François Chambelin, regional delegate at Inserm
- Costantino Creton, head of research at ESPCI Paris
- Alexis Brice, director of the Institute of Brain and Spinal Cord in Paris
The Foundation’s European ambassador, Thomas Andreae, PhD, also attended the event and shared congratulatory remarks. The reception was followed by a tour of the site’s impressive facilities.
Though Foundation chairman Neal F. Kassell, MD, was unable to attend, he pre-recorded his remarks, expressing his appreciation for the site’s important work.
“The Foundation is proud to welcome Physics for Medicine Paris as its newest and eighth Center of Excellence around the world,” said Kassell. “We established this program to recognize and support institutions that exhibit excellence in patient care, research, and teaching, and operate in an interdepartmental, interdisciplinary fashion. Physics for Medicine Paris has strength in all of these areas. We look forward to partnering with this outstanding team to translate fundamental physics principles into highly disruptive technologies that will result in new treatments for patients.”