Few words about the LBMC
The LBMC is an experimental biology laboratory hosted at ENS de Lyon in a multidisciplinary scientific environment. The laboratory's main subject of study is the cell, which is the most fundamental unit of life.
The laboratory's research teams aim at integrating diverse aspects of cell life such as proliferation, differentation, and interaction with cellular environment in a normal or pathogenic context.
The research performed at LBMC involves :
- a wide diversity of model organisms such as budding and fission yeast, nematodes, insects (drosophila and crickets), rodents, as well as avian, murine and human cells.
- a wide diversity of cell biology approaches from cell culture to microscopy thanks to an advanced technology facility called Platim.
- a wide diversity of molecular biology approaches from the generation of genetic models (using CRISPR/Cas9 technology for instance) to the generation of large datasets (in particular for genomics and transcriptomics).
The fundamental research pursued in the laboratory relies on expertise in cellular and molecular biology and integrates interdisciplinary approaches in (bio)computing, (bio)physics and (bio)mathematics. We are convinced that the integration of these fields to our research is essential and we seek to promote such interdisciplinary work.
Biomathematics
The LBMC has been very active developing collaborations with mathematicians, computer scientists and statisticians, who are now given the opportunity to develop their own methodological research within the laboratory to be at the core of current challenges in computational biology. This line of research is being developed along two methodological lines: Dynamical Modelling and AI / Machine Learning.
Biophysics
Many biophysical approaches are now routinely incorporated into our research programs: from the use of advanced experimental physical instruments like microfluidics to the development of biophysical models to capture the intrinsic physical nature of biological processes and biomolecules.
Biocomputing
To cope with the amount of information produced by modern biological experiment we routinely use AI and Machine Learning algorithms at the LBMC. We also develope dedicated machine learning models for the data analysis of original experiments produced at the lab by various genomic sequencing and imaging technologies.
One of the strength of ENS de Lyon is the interdisciplinarity of its teaching. Many teachers and reasearcher at LBMC embrace this trend towards more interdisciplinarity between biology/maths/physics/info and beyond. Within the biology department, we actively participate in the new teaching curriculums (2022-) from L3 to M2. Some of us are also involved in the « Complex Systems » M2 headed by IXXI.
A brief history
The LBMC was founded by Pr J. Daillie in 1987 at the opening of the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon with the aim to cover most of life science disciplines in order to have within this institution the competences necessary for its two core missions: research and teaching.
From the beginning, the LBMC has covered diverse topics based on the use of various models from yeast to human cells. The establishment of various model systems within the LBMC was carried out with the specific desire to ensure complementarity in research themes, thereby covering the major fields in eukaryotic cell biology (with the exception of plant biology): gene expression, biology of the nucleus, epigenetics, genomics, signalling, control of proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and senescence, cell cycle, virology, endocrinology, immunology, neurobiology, evolution, development and oncogenesis. A new research structure could emerge when one of the topics developed within the LBMC reached a sufficient critical mass. An example is the departure of the immunology teams (C. Rabourdin-Combe; J. Marvel) to create an INSERM unit on the premises of the ex- Lyon Pasteur Institute (tour CERVI). This role of "nursery" continued through the departure of the Lyon Institute of Functional Genomics (IGFL) founded by J. Samarut, a former LBMC director until 1997. This institute, previously hosted by the LBMC, moved into a new building in 2012. Another example of an institute that has been initiated by a former LBMC team is the IRCAN (Institute of Research on Cancer and Ageing of Nice) created in 2010 by Eric Gilson, also a former director of the LBMC. And in 2016 the INMG (Institute Neuro-Myo-Gene) was created at the initiative of Laurent Schaeffer, in the Lyon Est faculty of medicine to develop a new research community dedicated to molecular and cellular neurobiology, and biology of the neuromuscular system.
Since its creation, the LBMC has been administered as a “unité mixte de recherche“ (UMR), supported by the ENS de Lyon and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). The University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL) and the Lyon Hospices (HCL) also supported the laboratory, in particular through the presence of two joint-appointments within the LBMC and several transversal projects.