From 19th to 21st March 2018, Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg were invited to France for a state visit by President Emmanuel Macron. Next to the Prime Minister and members of the government, over 200 officials accompanied the Grand-Ducal couple for this occasion.

Among them were three representatives from LIH: Prof Laetitia Huiart, Director of the Department of Population Health, Dr Manon Gantenbein, Head of the Clinical and Epidemiological Investigation Centre, and Dr Catherine Larue, CEO of IBBL - Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg.

The visit started in Paris where the three representatives had the opportunity to meet the management from major French organisations in the presence of Mr Marc Hansen, Luxembourg Minister Delegate for Higher Education and Research. They were introduced to Inserm, the national public research institution dedicated to biomedical research, Aviesan, a national alliance that brings together the major players in life sciences and health in France, and Medicen Paris Region, a competitive cluster that links the academic world to the private sector. Aviesan presented the “France Médecine Génomique” plan 2025, an ambitious strategic plan that aims to position France among the leading countries engaged in genomic medicine within the next ten years.

The state visit continued in Toulouse where the delegation could visit the cancer research centre IUCT Oncopole and Hi-lab (standing for Health Innovation Laboratory) of Clinique Pasteur, an accelerator in health innovation.

‘We got an exceptional reception during the state visit and met major personalities’, tells Prof Laetitia Huiart. ‘We had the opportunity to discuss about possible collaborations that can help us to strengthen population health and clinical research in Luxembourg and give it a more international dimension.’ The delegates exchanged amongst others with Prof Yves Lévy, chairman of Inserm and Aviesan and Dr Claire Giry Inserm Deputy Director of Inserm on possible synergies in research.