Page 16 - FNRS.news 121

Sociology Biomedical sciences
S
AIT Identifying the D’hypothèse en hypothèse

TR social rights of

C POR migrants A trained doctor, Guido
Bommer is FNRS Senior
Research Associate at

ER the de Duve Institute
(UCLouvain), WELBIO
Investigator and promoter
of Télévie researchers. In
Jean-Michel Lafleur, 2018, he was awarded an
FNRS Senior Research Associate, CEDEM, ULiège ERC Consolidator Grant to
study the role of certain
Following the award of an ERC Starting Grant in 2016, Jean-Michel Lafleur saw his enzymes in the treatment
professional career take a real leap forward. With his team, he hopes that his ambitious of cancer. “But research is Guido Bommer,
project will open the door to new practices that are more favourable for immigrants in a bit like holidays: to make FNRS Senior Research Associate, de Duve Institute, UCLouvain
terms of their access to social protection in 40 receiving countries. really beautiful discoveries,
you sometimes have to go Flexibility Mysterious
NRS Senior Research Associate and A career accelerator
deputy Director for the Centre for off the beaten track…” In testing their hypotheses on this metabolism
FEthnicity and Migration Studies Jean-Michel Lafleur considers the ERC subject, however, they came to realise
at ULiège (CEDEM), Jean-Michel Lafleur grant to have been a career accelerator Project name: MiTSoPro - that they could have implications in To explore the metabolic pathway
was awarded an ERC Starting Grant of that has enabled him to gain recognition C IN BRIEF Migration and Transnational neurological diseases. “Fortunately, that has opened up before us, Guido
Social Protection in (post-)
1.3 million € to carry out a comparative for the work carried out, as well as to crisis Europe the ERC grants are distinctive for their Bommer and his team are using a
study of the conditions for immigrants take him to a new level of skills. “All of administrative flexibility: unlike others, they multidimensional approach that
to access healthcare, unemployment a sudden you find yourself with a large ER Type of grant: do not require researchers to predict what combines biochemical, genetic and
benefits, pensions, family services and budget for developing a project and putting ERC Starting Grant etabolic pathways are technical approaches will be used four years pharmacological techniques. “I am
social assistance in the 27 Member a team together around you. Thanks to the Dates : 2016 -2023 sequences of chemical later. Thanks to this exceptional flexibility, absolutely passionate about this field,
Countries of the European Union and in Starting Grant, I went from the status of “Mreactions catalysed by proteins which in particular makes it possible to because our metabolism still hides some
13 non-European countries. The study an independent researcher in a dynamic called enzymes”, explains Guido Bommer. redirect part of the staffing budget to mysterious areas and certain aspects of
began in 2016 and is scheduled to end in team to a team manager and leader of the “According to biochemistry manuals, all of equipment and vice-versa, we’re not afraid this obscure world could lead us to new
2023 . research project. I was also promoted to the enzymes needed for metabolism are to test risky hypotheses that could turn out therapies. Between now and the end of
1
the rank of FNRS Senior Research Associate might have been misinterpreted by the already known, but this is not the case. to be correct and relevant, just as they could the grant, in 2023, I hope that we will have
published a number of papers on cancer
A collective process and achieved the title of Research Professor extreme right and by citizens opposed to There are still many that are not part of the also be totally false.” AND on neurological diseases… but also
immigration. This is why our research was
within the University.”
biochemistry ‘canon’ and whose function
From the outset, the researcher constantly guided by the concern of not escape us, although they suggest the Side roads that our hypotheses will have led us to other
fields of investigation!”
underlines the collective process An ambitious project opening the door to stigmatisation.” existence of unknown metabolic pathways
that underlies his project, while still In the end, taking a risk opened the door containing metabolites, which are organic He did not hide this risk from the Marie-Françoise Dispa
guaranteeing its completion. “While the with double the risk to new progress. “The States will be able compounds produced by metabolism that committee that questioned him when
granted offered by the ERC are intended While the award of an ERC grants to compare themselves with each other and have never been described.” he applied for an ERC Grant, underlining
to support individual researchers, I could
at the same time that even an incorrect
- FNRS.NEWS 121 - FEBRUARY 2021 particular of Daniela Vintila, Postdoctoral the taking of risks. “On the one hand, we aid to immigrants by promoting awareness One of these new metabolic pathways highway, but more on side roads. By not C IN BRIEF Project name: NoMePaCa - - FNRS.NEWS 121 - FEBRUARY 2021
adjust their policies for better practices in
enabled Jean-Michel Lafleur’s team to
not have completed my project without
Protective enzymes
hypothesis can still contribute to
terms of immigrants having access to social
produce in-depth research work, the
the collaboration of my colleagues and in
progress. “Perhaps not on the main
protection. We also want to provide real
European Research Council also validated
researcher at CEDEM, with whom I built the
hesitating to follow clues that take me away
has been located by Guido Bommer
about their rights.”
were able to develop an ambitious project
study. In the same way, the support of the
from my field of expertise, I’m not being
and his team. “The data gathered
aimed at creating a dialogue and having
Colette Barbier
Director of CEDEM, Marco Martiniello, and
appears to indicate that it may turn out
arrogant. I’m simply recognising that nature
two fields work together that traditionally
the University authorities were essential in
is often more intelligent than we are and
to be important in a group of cancers
do not do so. In essence, we created a
view of the sheer scale of resources needed
that, even while refining our hypotheses
characterised by the same specific
Novel Metabolic Pathways in
network of 100 specialists in migration and
and the aims of the project in terms of
stage by stage, the idea that we have
Cancer
mutations. We have not yet published
social protection in 40 countries. On the
finance and risk.”
anything about this, but we have discovered
about the way something functions at the
other hand, we took a political and societal
risk, because by working on the access of
ERC Consolidator Grant
with reality.”
help our metabolism keep its metabolites
immigrants to social protection, our results
Dates : 2018 -2023
intact and hence play a role in certain
14 1. The study gave birth to 3 works. They are also freely available from: www.cedem.uliege.be/migrationwelfare. that there are enzymes that are likely to beginning of our study may not correspond ER Type of grant: 15
cancers.”