imperial college london and France’s National Center for Scientific Research have launched a joint international research institute focused on metabolism. A.I.and disease.
CNRS-Imperial International Research Laboratory in Multiscale Metabolism “Antoine Lavoisier” brings together artificial intelligence, machine learning, clinical data, advanced analytics, and experimental biology to study how metabolic processes vary between individuals and populations.
The institute was launched at a reception at the British Embassy in Paris during a side event of the UK-French Joint Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation.
The new laboratory is Imperial’s third international laboratory to partner with the National Center for Scientific Research, known as CNRS. This follows the Abraham de Moivre Institute of Mathematics, which was established in 2018, and the Ayrton Bleriot Institute of Engineering, which was established by French President Emmanuel Macron last year.
The Metabolism Laboratory will focus on health areas such as cancer, diabetes, cardiometabolic diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia. Imperial said researchers will look at how metabolic processes change over time and how those insights can support early diagnosis, more personalized treatments, and data-driven decision-making tools for health systems.
AI and metabolism research
The laboratory is named after Antoine Lavoisier, a French chemist who helped establish the fields of metabolism and calorimetry.
Imperial said metabolic fluctuations and dysfunction are associated with a variety of age-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
By 2030, an estimated 1 billion people worldwide will be living with obesity. Diabetes is predicted to affect 1.3 billion people by 2050, and approximately 65% of them will die from cardiovascular and kidney disease, while increasing their risk of stroke, dementia and some cancers.
Researchers in the new lab will combine clinical data, advanced analytics, and experimental biology to map how metabolic processes differ from person to person and change over time.
This research uses AI and machine learning to support early prediction of disease risk, more personalized treatments, studying the role of gut bacteria and systemic systems, and data-driven tools for medical decision-making.
Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London, said: “Understanding metabolism is critical to addressing some of the biggest health challenges of our time, from obesity and diabetes to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, and our new joint laboratory will put the UK and France at the forefront of this important research area.”
“By bringing together world-leading expertise and cutting-edge technologies, including AI and machine learning, we will deepen our understanding of these complex situations for the benefit of all people. Our collaboration with France’s CNRS creates new opportunities to share talent, knowledge and resources to accelerate discovery, advance medical innovation and deliver meaningful social impact.”
UK-France research partnership expands
The new institute will form part of the CNRS-Empire International Center for Transformative Science Research, a collaborative framework designed to support long-term UK-French collaboration, researcher mobility and joint innovation.
Mr Imperial said the International Research Center is the UK’s only IRC for CNRS, connecting the UK and French scientific communities across laboratories and networks in mathematics, engineering, physics, biochemistry and systems biology.
Professor Mark Szasz, Co-Director of the International Research Institute in Imperial’s Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, said: “Metabolism plays a key role in many of the diseases people face today. By combining cutting-edge research with real patient data, this Institute will help us understand these conditions more clearly.”
“By integrating these insights, we aim to find new ways to prevent disease and develop more effective treatments tailored to individual patients.”
The lab builds on Imperial’s existing collaboration with CNRS and the University of Lille. Imperial is one of the UK’s closest scientific collaborators with France, publishing around 1,400 research papers with its French partners each year.
The partnership also includes a joint Imperial and CNRS PhD program that supports researchers who network with laboratories and conduct research beyond quantitative disciplines.
International laboratories and research networks
The Antoine Lavoisier laboratory will join two existing Imperial-CNRS International Research Laboratories.
The Abraham de Moivre Institute of Mathematics was launched in 2018. The Ayrton Blériot Institute of Engineering, also known as ABEL, was launched last year and focuses on engineering.
In addition to the three institutes, Imperial and CNRS also have international research networks and projects. These include physics and medical research through LhARA, which applies particle physics to next-generation cancer treatments. Quantum fields and strings. Focus on theoretical and mathematical physics. and GOLDMINE, a sustainable computing network exploring nanoscale science for greener technologies.
Professor Sandrine Hoyts, co-director of the International Research Center at Imperial and CNRS, said: “This new laboratory marks an exciting expansion of the partnership between Imperial and CNRS. It reflects both the strength of our existing collaboration and our shared ambition to tackle the world’s major health problems through interdisciplinary research and innovation.”
The new laboratory will be housed within the wider CNRS Imperial Center for International Transformative Science Research, alongside mathematics and engineering laboratories and existing research networks. Imperial said Antoine Lavoisier’s lab is expected to support health technology innovation across the UK and France through research into diagnostic tools, treatments and digital health solutions.
