On March 19, 2025, the Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant (ICE) was officially inaugurated at the Institut Pasteur, in the presence of Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families, and Yannick Neuder, Minister Delegate for Health and Access to Care. This university hospital institute (IHU), announced in 2021 at the Assises de la santé mentale and accredited as part of the France 2030 plan, aims to revolutionize our understanding of children's brain development to better prevent and support neurodevelopmental disorders.
" It's a novel, decompartmentalized model that will unite scientific research, medical practice and educational sciences to better understand the development of the child's brain, and thus better prevent and better support children and their families", explained Adrien Taquet, Chairman of the Institute's Supervisory Board, at the launch.
neurodevelopmental disorders. To improve the trajectory of these children, the Institute aims to revolutionize our understanding of brain development.
ICE is positioned as a crossroads between research, medicine and education, with the ambition of decompartmentalizing these spheres to improve the trajectory of children with neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities. The institute's work will focus in particular on understanding brain development mechanisms, preventing disorders and improving learning.
The dedicated ICE building, whose architecture has been designed with young patients and their families in mind, will be built on the campus of the Robert-Debré AP-HP hospital and should be operational in 2027. This project, financed to the tune of 40 million euros by the French government out of a total budget of 62 million euros, represents a decisive step towards transforming our understanding of neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities and improving prevention.
With over 700 people in attendance throughout the afternoon, this launch, rich in learning and commitment, marks a decisive step for the Institute.
Check out the replay and highlights of the afternoon, including..:
- [1″03 ] Economist and HEC professor Yann Algan's fascinating lecture on the importance of investing in childhood to guarantee a better future for society. 1″03
- [1″34] The Institute and its major challenges and by Pr. Ghislaine Dehaene, Director of the Institute and Marianne Perreau-Saussine, Executive Director of the Institute.
- [1″51] Why understand and act on each child's developmental trajectories? By Prof. Richard Delorme, Medical Director and Prof. Marie Schaer, Child Psychiatrist, teacher-researcher (University of Geneva)
- [2″40] Identify risk and resilience factors to develop personalized support by
- Pr. Thomas Bourgeron, Institute Translational Director, Pr. Stéphane Auvin, Institute Preclinical Research Director, Julia Bouchet, President PhelanMcDermid Syndrome Association, Nadège Burns, Founder Tehani Association Dr. Claire Leblond-Manry, MCU, Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions Laboratory (Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité), Dr. Anna Maruani, Md PhD child psychiatrist, Dr. Boris Chaumette, Psychiatrist, research professor (Université Paris Cité, INSERM, Institut Pasteur), Stef Bonnot-Briey, Psychiatrist, research professor (Institut Pasteur, INSERM, Université Paris Cité). Anna Maruani, Md PhD child psychiatrist, Dr. Boris Chaumette, psychiatrist, teacher-researcher (Université Paris Cité, INSERM, Institut Pasteur) Stef Bonnot-Briey, Founder association PAARI, and Pierre Fenaux, Administrator and head of the UNAPEI research commission.
Finally, we'd like to extend a special thank you to Paul Mirabel and Samuel le Bihan [2″28] for their moving messages of support, and especially to the children who went through the exercise of expressing themselves to tell us what their expectations were for the next 5 years! [35″]
