For the first time, the Institute's Supervisory Board brought together the major founding institutions - Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Paris Cité, Inserm, Institut Pasteur and CEA - as well as leading figures from the medical, scientific, societal and economic fields.
The Institute's Supervisory Board consists of the following members:
The five representatives of the founding organizations:
-
- Nicolas REVEL, Chief Executive Officer of AP-HP.
- Édouard KAMINSKI, President, Université Paris Cité.
- Didier SAMUEL, Chairman and CEO of Inserm.
- Yasmine BELKAID, General Manager, Institut Pasteur.
- Anne-Isabelle ETIENVRE, Director of Fundamental Research, CEA.
The two members of the Family and Children's Committee:
-
- Steph BONNOT-BRIEY, President of AUTOP-H and PAARI.
- Pierre FENAUX, Chairman of the UNAPEI Research Commission.
Representative of researchers and teacher-researchers (to be appointed)
State representative: Samuel GUIBAL, Regional Academic Delegate for Research and Innovation (DRARI).
The four expert members:
-
- Frédéric BANZET, Chairman of Etablissements Peugeot Frères.
- Marguerite CAZENEUVE, Deputy Director, Assurance-Maladie.
- José SAHEL, founder and former director of the Institut de la Vision.
- Adrien TAQUET, former Secretary of State for Children and Families, UNICEF France Board member.
At this inaugural meeting, Adrien TAQUET was elected Chairman of the Supervisory Board for a four-year term, and Dr Ghislaine Dehaene Director of ICE for a two-year term.
In addition, the Board formalized the appointment of :
- Marianne PERREAU-SAUSSINE, Executive Director.
- Pr Richard DELORME, Medical Director.
- Pr Thomas BOURGERON, Director of Translational Research.
- Pr Stephane AUVIN, Director of Preclinical Research.
The Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant (ICE), an institution at the service of every child.
Improving children's mental health and education. One in five children in France has significant learning difficulties, one in six suffers from a neurodevelopmental disorder (autism, specific learning difficulties (dys...), attention deficit disorder, intellectual disability), and one in five lives below the poverty line. The frequent confluence of these difficulties has a major impact on adult life. Investing before the age of 5 transforms individual trajectories, reduces inequalities in adult life and considerably limits the societal impact of these vulnerabilities.
Founded in 2021 and accredited as a university hospital institute (IHU) in 2023, the Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant (cerveau-enfant.org), based at the Robert-Debré AP-HP hospital, brings together researchers, doctors, caregivers, families and economic players around a single cause: children, their cognitive development and their vulnerabilities. This institute, which benefits from a unique partnership between AP-HP, Inserm, Université Paris Cité, Institut Pasteur and Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA), aspires to become a key pillar of French excellence, responding to the major public health and educational challenges linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, the prevention of learning difficulties, and the development of young generations.
The Institute's mission is to:
- Better understand the developing brain to improve children's health, learning and well-being;
- Prevent and identify the onset of disorders or difficulties at an early stage;
- Transform care and education pathways.
Over the next few years, the Institut du Cerveau de l'Enfant is committed to:
- Developing new models of developmental trajectories to propose new diagnostic and remediation/compensation tools;
- Transforming the care pathway, by improving hospital organization and accessibility;
- Creating a clinical trial platform to encourage the emergence of evidence-based therapeutic innovations;
- Developing a digital portal dedicated to informing families, training professionals and supporting children;
- Creating a Living Lab to foster innovation and reinforce proof of real effectiveness.
In 2027, a dedicated 14,000m2 building will open within the Robert-Debré AP-HP hospital, bringing together care and research to accelerate the discovery of new treatments.
More than 300 professionals already work for the Institute, and the creation of the Supervisory Board is a guarantee of the scientific and medical excellence that the Institute wishes to promote both domestically and internationally.
March 19, 2025 marks a new milestone in the life of the Instutute, with the opening to the general public, bringing together researchers, clinicians and patient and family representatives to discuss the Institute's projects.
"The Institut du Cerveau de l'Enfant is a considerable force for scientific and medical innovation in the service of all children, especially the most vulnerable. As Chairman of its Supervisory Board, I will ensure that this Institute lives up to its ambitions and the hopes we place in it for today's children and tomorrow's adults", declared Adrien Taquet at the end of this first Board meeting.