Our basic research

What you need to know about basic research in Nice

Fundamental Research in Nice

Fundamental research in Nice is structured around two research units from the Côte d’Azur laboratories, each focusing on different topics:

Mediterranean Center for Molecular Medicine (C3M)

C3M

The Mediterranean Center for Molecular Medicine (C3M), created in January 2008, is a joint research unit under the governance of INSERM and University Côte d'Azur. This research centre is dedicated to translational research into cancer, cardiometabolic diseases and infectious diseases. The association of researchers and clinicians working in C3M creates a synergy based on a common project at the interface between fundamental resarch and clinical research. The C3M is made up of fourteen research teams that maintain fruitful collaborations with doctors and clinicians from a dozen clinical departments of the Nice University hospitals.

The C3M Team 1, led by Corine Bertolotto and Robert Ballotti, focuses on the biology and pathology of melanocytic cells. They bring over 20 years of expertise and international recognition in cutaneous melanoma research to advance the field of ocular melanoma. Thanks to advances in fundamental research, metastatic cutaneous melanoma, a difficult-to-treat cancer, can now be targeted. This offers hope that relevant targets can also be identified to treat metastatic ocular melanoma.

Their team, in close collaboration with the Dermatology and Pathology departments of Nice University Hospital (CHU de Nice), has been committed for many years to developing innovative translational research using cutting-edge techniques to better understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the development, progression and resistance to treatment of cutaneous melanoma. Their team was the first to describe the role of BRAF in cutaneous melanoma and to identify a mutation in MITF (the key gene for melanocyte differentiation) that predisposes carriers to melanoma and kidney cancer. They have also played a key role in describing the role of MITF in the plasticity of melanoma cells, which is associated with greater aggressiveness and resistance to therapies. Recently, they showed the interactions between metabolism, epigenetics and resistance to targeted therapies. Since 2016, they initiated a new theme on ocular melanoma, in collaboration with the ophthalmology department of CHU de Nice, with the aim of transferring our discoveries to the clinic. Their work has already enabled the identification of reliable prognostic markers and relevant therapeutic targets that will improve patient survival.

Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging in Nice (IRCAN)

IRCAN

The Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging in Nice (IRCAN) was founded on January 1, 2012. It was established under the collaborative efforts of the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis (now part of the University Côte d’Azur), the INSERM, and the CNRS. The founding was motivated by the need to understand and address the complex biological interconnections between aging and cancer.

The team lead by Gilles Pages explores how a key cell signaling pathway, known as the ERK pathway, impacts cancer development and progression, with a particular focus on its role in promoting the growth of blood vessels in tumors—a process called angiogenesis. This pathway influences the production of VEGF, a protein that helps tumors attract blood supply, which is crucial for their growth. Their studies have helped identify how changes in this pathway can indicate the severity of certain cancers, such as those in the breast and head and neck.

Additionally, they have linked changes in this pathway to the activity of telomeres, protective caps on chromosomes that play roles in aging and cancer development. Their team also investigates why the cancer drug bevacizumab has varying success depending on the type of cancer, such as in breast, prostate, and kidney cancers, to improve how this drug is used in treatment. Monoclonal antibodies targeting CXCL7 and 8 are currently developed, with the hope to start clinical studies with a drug-candidate.