Robert Debré Child Brain Institute: A decisive step in transforming our understanding of neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities, improving prevention and facilitating learning

As announced in 2021 by the French President during the Conference on Mental Health and Psychiatry, in May 2024 the Robert Debré Child Brain Institute (ICE) was founded by the Paris Public Hospital Network (AP-HP), Université Paris Cité, Inserm, the CEA and the Institut Pasteur as an external collaborative institute involving a dozen clinical departments at Robert Debré AP-HP Hospital and around 20 research laboratories. The institute is an accredited University Hospital Institute (IHU), as provided under the "France 2030" plan.

The Child Brain Institute was officially inaugurated on Wednesday March 19 at the Institut Pasteur, at an event attended by Catherine Vautrin, French Minister for Health, Solidarity and Families, and Yannick Neuder, Minister for Health and Access to Care. This major event for the new institute brought together the founder members, represented by Nicolas Revel, CEO of the Paris Public Hospital Network (AP-HP), Édouard Kaminski, President of Université Paris Cité, Didier Samuel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Inserm, Yasmine Belkaid, President of the Institut Pasteur, and Anne-Isabelle Etienvre, Director of the Fundamental Research Division at the CEA.

This was an opportunity for Yasmine Belkaid to reiterate that science is a broad spectrum that ranges from fundamental to clinical research, the aim being to ensure that every scientific breakthrough can make a difference in meeting the needs of children and their parents: "without fundamental research, there can be no future therapeutic breakthroughs."

By harnessing the expertise of both scientists and physicians, the institute will help improve our understanding of how children's brains work, while also improving detection and treatment for neurodevelopmental disorders, which affect one in six children in France. How do children's brains learn? Why do some children experience difficulties with affective and cognitive development? How can we better prevent and provide support for vulnerabilities, especially at school? The Child Brain Institute was set up to respond to these major challenges. The new institute, which stands at the intersection between research, medicine and education, has a clear ambition: to revolutionize the understanding of brain development with the aim of improving outcomes for children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

The new institute will receive €20 million in government funding over ten years to pursue a core scientific program based around four main areas:

1-    Understanding the mechanisms underpinning brain development and learning, and elucidating their vulnerabilities and plasticity.
2-    Developing preventive measures, identifying developmental vulnerabilities at an early stage and anticipating children's needs
3-    Proposing personalized, multidimensional treatment pathways
4-    Innovating and changing practices by incorporating the latest scientific developments

Within the Child Brain Institute, several key figures will work alongside Adrien Taquet, Chair of the Supervisory Board, and Ghislaine Dehaene, President: Marianne Perreau-Saussine as Executive Director, Richard Delorme as Medical Director, Thomas Bourgeron as Director for Translational Research, and Stéphane Auvin as Director for Preclinical Research.

"Understanding neurodiversity is essential to provide appropriate support for each child. Research in this field needs to draw on wide-ranging expertise, especially from those involved."

Thomas Bourgeron, Translational Scientific Director of the Child Brain Institute

In 2027, a vast dedicated building will be opened in Robert-Debré AP-HP Hospital, housing both treatment and research facilities to speed up the discovery of new treatments.

Find out more, read the press release about the launch of the Child Brain Institute

See the video of the event