Congratulations to our two winners!
Our research program is funding doctoral fellowships in 2025 to support innovative research projects in precision psychiatry. A second wave of funding is planned for 2026, to further expand opportunities for young researchers and reinforce scientific advances in this field.
Veronica Sandroni for the AIRWISE project and Jan Berkehan Erkilic, MD MPH for MetaboPsy!
AIRWISE studies the impact of air pollution on the risk and progression of psychiatric disorders. The project’s institutional referent is Baptiste Pignon.
Urbanicity is a recognized risk factor for several psychiatric disorders (psychoses, mood disorders, autism spectrum disorders). Air pollution (AP) is an environmental factor potentially responsible for this association, although still poorly understood.
Objectives :
- to study the impact of exposure to different pollutants on the risk of severe psychiatric disorders,
- to identify periods of vulnerability to AP,
- to determine the clinical and biological profiles linked to exposure to AP,
- to analyze the effect of AP on the severity and evolution of psychiatric disorders, as well as on sub-clinical symptoms.
MetaboPsy studies immunometabolic abnormalities in major mood and psychotic disorders. The project’s institutional referent is Ophelia Godin.
People with major psychiatric disorders are at increased risk of metabolic disorders (type 2 diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia), contributing to a 10-20 year reduced life expectancy. Understanding this comorbidity is crucial to improving prevention and early treatment.
Some recent studies suggest that a subgroup of patients with immunometabolic abnormalities present specific symptoms (hyperphagia, weight gain, hypersomnia, fatigue, anhedonia). However, research remains limited.
Objectives :
- identify the specific symptoms associated with metabolic abnormalities in different psychiatric disorders,
- study the long-term links between immunometabolic derangements and atypical symptoms,
- assess the impact of metabolic health on treatment response,
- explore brain alterations in patients with immunometabolic syndrome,
- define a clinico-biological signature of metabolic health in severe psychiatric disorders.
Proposals should address one of the following themes:
Markers for stratification of dimensions and/or transnosographic clinical forms
- Research and identification of clinical, cognitive, omics, environmental, imaging, EEG and/or digital markers, using PEPR PROPSY databases, existing national and international databases or those in the process of being acquired, etc.
- Exploration of pathophysiological mechanisms (immunometabolism) underlying biomarker anomalies.
Modeling and artificial intelligence
- Development of learning algorithms (AI, machine learning, contrastive learning) based on multimodal databases.
- Exploitation of multimodal databases to identify algorithms for stratifying psychiatric pathologies.
Candidates must hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in neuroscience, psychiatry, artificial intelligence, biology or related disciplines.
The thesis must be carried out in a laboratory affiliated to a French institution authorized to award doctorates.
The thesis supervisor must be identified and have recognized expertise in the field.
Theses may be co-supervised with international laboratories (EU, USA, Canada), provided the doctoral student is enrolled in a French doctoral school. International co-financing may be considered.
Funding is intended to support doctoral theses in precision psychiatry. Each selected project will receive a grant to cover the costs of recruiting a doctoral student and implementing the research project:
- Maximum grant per project: €153,400, including a maximum of 18% in management costs.
- Co-financing : projects may include co-financing. These must be detailed in the application file, specifying their origin and use.
- Duration of funding: 3 years.
- Use of funds: remuneration of the doctoral student in accordance with current funding scales, operating costs directly linked to the research project and contribution to the costs of supervising and training the doctoral student.
Consult our answers here.
Program Scientific Director: Marion Leboyer
Program Manager: Marie-Hélène Soto
If you have any questions, please contact aap@pepr-propsy.fr