Topics

From a scientific point of view, the Unit's historical activity area is that of chemical food safety and is part of a global and integrated approach to the characterisation of exposures, from agro-supply to humans and their descendants. LABERCA is committed to generating data and knowledge to characterize both the external exposure (food) of the consumer (measures of occurrence in food) but also its internal exposure (indicator of impregnation) with regard to the same parameters, their metabolites or their degradation products in biological fluids and tissues. The Unit also generates data that contributes to hazard identification, particularly for endocrine disrupting substances, by identifying biomarkers of effect (metabolome, lipidome or steroidome). The Unit also contributes to the study of possible associations between exposure markers (external or internal), effect markers (omic disruptions) and clinical observations, especially in the field of reproduction and development. The project of the Unit aims to perfect the knowledge around the notion of exposome in all its complexity, especially with regard to emerging chemical contaminants.

Organisation

The laboratory's research activity is framed on the one hand by quadrennial contracts entered into with its two “Research” supervisions, which are the AlimH department of INRAE and the DGER, but also with its DGAl supervision on the basis of an annual agreement. The LABERCA builds its projects with regard to the strategic axes of the INRAE Orientation documents, ensuring that they fit within its thematic scope but also that they are in direct connection when possible with its NRL missions such as described by regulatory texts.

The structure of LABERCA's research activities is based on an organization by project management, from conception to project promotion; LABERCA is certified as such according to the ISO9001: 2015 standard.

The matrix organisation of research is defined by a structure made up of 2 main themes, one "Food", the other "Health" and two associated Scientific Officers who form the Scientific Directorate.

Research funding is provided by the budgets allocated by the DGAl (annual agreement), and upon response to calls for tenders in its area of competence by the European Commission (contract), the ANR (contract), ANSES (contract), and Regions (contract), for the main.

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