From October 8 to 9, a delegation from the School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University visited Université Paris Cité in Paris, France, including its Institut Jacques Monod (IJM) and Epigenetics and Cell Fate Center (EDC). The delegation was composed of Professor Anming Meng, Professor Qinghua Tao, and Associate Professor Haifeng Wang, who engaged in a two-day academic exchange with French scholars.
Université Paris Cité is a flagship university under France’s “Excellence Initiative” program, ranking 1st in France and 43rd worldwide in the 2025 U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings. The two host institutions—the Institut Jacques Monod (IJM) and the Epigenetics and Cell Fate Center (EDC)—are jointly established by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Université Paris Cité, and represent core forces in fundamental biological research in France. IJM focuses primarily on genome and chromosome dynamics, cell dynamics and signal transduction, and development and evolution, while EDC is dedicated to cutting-edge exploration of epigenetic mechanisms and cell fate decisions.
The *Minisymposium on Development, Epigenetics and Cell Biology* was jointly organized by Université Paris Cité and the Institut Jacques Monod (IJM) together with the School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University, aiming to deepen academic dialogue and research collaboration between the two sides in fundamental biology.
October 8: Academic Presentations
The symposium opened on the morning of October 8 in the François Jacob Lecture Hall of the Institut Jacques Monod. Nicolas Minc, Deputy Director of IJM, first introduced the institute’s history, organizational structure, and main research directions.
The session then moved on to academic presentations. Professor Anming Meng delivered a talk entitled “Early Development in Vertebrates,” followed by Maxim Greenberg of IJM, who presented recent progress on “Chromatin Dynamics in Mammalian Development.” Professor Qinghua Tao gave a presentation on “Mechanisms of Vertebrate Development,” and Vanessa Ribes of IJM shared the latest findings on “Human Neurodevelopment and Disorders.” The presentations addressed frontier questions in developmental biology, and the discussions were held in a focused and engaging atmosphere.
In the afternoon, the symposium turned to epigenetics and cell biology. René-Marc Mège of IJM reported on research related to “Cell Adhesion and Mechanics,” while Pierre-Antoine Defossez, Deputy Director of EDC, introduced the center’s organizational structure, research priorities, and operational model. Associate Professor Haifeng Wang delivered a talk entitled “CRISPR-Based Tools for Studying Genome Dynamics and DNA Interactions in Living Cells,” and Dounia Djeghloul of EDC concluded the session with a presentation on “Mitotic Inheritance of Cell Identity.” After the presentations, scholars from both sides engaged in face-to-face discussions on topics of mutual interest.
Dedicated primarily to thematic academic presentations, the first day enabled Chinese and French scholars to gain a comprehensive understanding of each other’s research directions and institutional platforms, laying the groundwork for the one-on-one matchmaking sessions of the following day.
October 9: One-on-One Meetings and Platform Tours
On the morning of October 9, the two sides held in-depth one-on-one meetings. The three delegates from the School of Life Sciences conducted targeted exchanges with a number of French group leaders, engaging in substantive discussions on specific projects and scientific questions of shared interest.
After the meetings, accompanied by French hosts, the delegation toured the imaging facility and the proteomics platform of the Institut Jacques Monod, gaining first-hand insight into the institute’s state-of-the-art instrumentation, platform operations, and technical support systems.
In the afternoon, the delegation moved to the Epigenetics and Cell Fate Center, where they continued one-on-one meetings with the center’s researchers and visited its experimental platforms, further exploring Université Paris Cité’s major research base in epigenetics.
The visit provided the delegation with an in-depth overview of the latest research developments in developmental biology and epigenetics in France, while the cross-disciplinary exchanges between Chinese and French scholars opened up new avenues for deepening research collaboration. Through intensive one-on-one meetings, the two sides reached preliminary consensus on future joint projects and personnel exchanges. The on-site visits to IJM’s imaging and proteomics platforms also offered valuable international experience for the development, management, and technical staff training of related research platforms at Tsinghua University.
Group photo
