Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant
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The Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant

Created in 2021 and accredited as a university hospital institute (IHU) in 2023, the Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant brings together children's and families' representatives, researchers, doctors, world-renowned carers and economic players around a single cause: children, their cognitive development and their vulnerabilities.

In 2027, these teams will be brought together on the site of the Robert-Debré AP-HP hospital in Paris. The founders of the Institute are Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Paris Cité, Inserm, CEA and Institut Pasteur.

Discover the Institute
Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant - Architectural competition for the future building

View of the entrance to the future Institut building from Boulevard Sérurier
AIA Life Designers, architects

A word from the IHU Director

Ghislaine-Dehaene-Lambertz, Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant

Dr Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz

Director of the IHU, Chairman of the Executive Committee

Let's marvel for a moment at a child's fantastic capacity for learning. At no other time in life will changes be as rapid, as profound and with such far-reaching consequences for the future as during these first years, when children are discovering the world, others and themselves.

ALL children learn and progress. ALL have a curiosity and a desire to understand and thrive, but some run into difficulties, and we adults - parents, carers, support staff, researchers - ask ourselves how we can help them realize their potential.

Our understanding of neurodevelopment has advanced considerably in recent years, thanks to new models of learning based on cognitive science, neuroscience, artificial intelligence and brain imaging. Advances in basic neuroscience are also helping us to better understand the relationships between genes, neural circuits and learning.

How can these scientific advances be translated into significant improvements for children?

This is the aim of the Institut Robert Debré du Cerveau de l'Enfant: helping every child to progress and build, especially in cases of neurodevelopmental difficulties.

We are convinced that a better understanding of one's own brain and cognitive functioning - the "know thyself" of the Greek philosophers - can give each child and his or her family the power to take charge of their own future.

The opportunities offered by the plasticity of the developing brain need to be understood and exploited to develop solutions for every age in the family and at school.

Thanks to a synergy between all the players involved in children's issues, and the determination of the APHP, Université Paris Cité, CEA, INSERM and Institut Pasteur, a new 12,000 m² building will be constructed in the Robert Debré hospital (AP-HP, Paris 19th) to house clinical teams, research laboratories, start-ups and non-profits dedicated to children and their families. It will open its doors in 2027.

I'm looking forward to taking part in this great French and international adventure, which will bring together a wide range of talents around the theme of childhood. It takes a village to raise a child. Contemporary life seems to forget this.

Let's put children back at the center of our cities. They are citizens in their own right, but with more needs than others. We must listen, guide and support them. We will do this at the Institut du Cerveau de l’Enfant, with the help of all of you.

Ghislaine-Dehaene-Lambertz, Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant

Dr Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz

Director of the IHU
Chairman of the Executive Committee

Why study children's brains?

Child development is based on the interaction between highly complex brain processes - which we are beginning to understand better - and a social and educational environment that provides the emotional security and sensory and cognitive stimulation necessary for the child's development.

Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant

This early period of life is a phase of great vulnerability, but also of great sensitivity to an optimal environment, enabling the child to realize his or her potential. Children follow diverse developmental trajectories due to the interaction of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors...

To provide children with the tools they need for learning, education and health, we develop a coherent, cross-disciplinary approach - avoiding the usual compartmentalized approach - between health and education, normal and pathological, brain and mind, emotions and cognition.

This integrated approach will make it possible to respond to the multiple challenges facing today's children, and in particular the most vulnerable among them, in a rapidly changing environment.

Key figures

2 million French people

are under 15

1 child in 5

lives below the poverty line

1 child in 5

is in academic difficulty

1 child in 6

has a neurodevelopmental disorder

News

Young researchers at the Institute Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant

November 22, a day dedicated to young researchers at the Institute Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant

On November 22, the Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) du Cerveau de l'Enfant will welcome young researchers from the institute's founding institutions (AP-HP, INSERM, Institut Pasteur, CEA, Université Paris-Cité) for an exceptional day of meetings and exchanges. The aim of the day is to mobilize tomorrow's talent and strengthen collaborations between the research teams and young scientists.

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