On 28 October, as part of the Presidential Council for Science, the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, met with several key figures in mental health research and care, in the presence of the Minister for Higher Education, Research and Space, Philippe Baptiste, as well as Élysée advisers Prof. Gilles Halbout and Prof. Grégory Emery.
The following guests were notably invited:
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Prof. Marion Leboyer, Professor of Psychiatry (Université Paris-Est Créteil, AP-HP – Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Paris, Inserm), Scientific Director of the precision psychiatry research programme PEPR PROPSY and Director of the Fondation FondaMental.
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Prof. Husseini Manji, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, Co-Chair of the UK Government Mental Health Mission.
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Prof. Richard Delorme, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Director of the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute.
This meeting showcased major advances in French research in precision psychiatry, in particular the identification of homogeneous clinical subtypes through brain imaging, genetics and immunology.
These findings illustrate the paradigm shift underway in the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses.
The meeting follows the signing of a Franco-British consortium on biomarker research, held on 27 October at the French Embassy in the United Kingdom, in the presence of Prof. Didier Samuel (Chairman and CEO of Inserm), Prof. Rachel Upthegrove (University of Oxford, NIHR) and Prof. Marion Leboyer.
These discussions demonstrate the institutional and scientific recognition of precision psychiatry as a strategic field for French research, serving to enhance the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses.