7 "Laboratoires d'excellence" (LabEx) have been selected by the Ministry of Education and Research. Two of them are at the heart of the research fields covered by Agropolis International "Agronomy and Sustainable Development" (Agro) and "Mediterranean Center for Environment and
Biodiversity" (CEMEB).

The other 5 LabEx selected in the Languedoc-Roussillon region are:

• NUMEV: Digital and Hardware Solutions, Modelling for the Environment and Life Sciences

• Entreprendre: LabEx Entreprendre

• CheMISyst: Chimie des systèmes moléculaires et interfaciaux

• SOLSTICE: Solar Energy: Science, Technology and Innovation for Energy Conversion

• EpiGenMed : Du Génome et l’Epigénome à la médecine moléculaire

The LabEx Agro - Agronomy and Sustainable Development - is led by Agropolis Fondation and focuses on Plants of agronomic interest.

It regroups 27 research units and 1 000 scientists making a continuum of multidisciplinary knowledge from the study of genes to the end use of plants, and having a recognized expertise over numerous plant species from temperate, Mediterranean and tropical areas. Research units from the following research institutes are involved: CIRAD, CNRS, IRSTEA, CIHEAM-IAM.M, INRA, IRD, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier 1 University, Montpellier 2 University, Perpignan-Via Domitia University and University of La Réunion.

The scientific competences of the network are organized into 5 closely linked research fields:  

• Genetics and genomics, plant breeding, ecophysiology;
• Integrated crop protection, plant pests and diseases, symbionts, population ecology;
• Agro-ecosystems, agri-environmental innovations and resource management;
• Agri-food systems, processing and quality of food and non-food materials
• Innovation processes and social management of innovation.

The Labex Agro is the continuation of the work carried out by Agropolis Fondation since its inception in 2007.

Further information >>

Read the article on the inauguration of the LabEx Agro in the Agropolis International Newsletter n°12 (pdf file 1227 Kb) >>

The LabEx CEMEB - Mediterranean Center for Environment and Biodiversity - focuses on biodiversity

Montpellier is the first town in France for researches on biodiversity and among the first in Europe. The project builds on this excellence of research in Biodiversity in Montpellier, the strong involvement of the concerned units in applied environmental issues and their strong pluridisciplinary experience. Besides its positive effects on the whole ecological research community in Montpellier, it is also a major contribution to the emergence of an integrative environmental science at the core of “Initiative d’excellence” project of Montpellier, in coherence with the National Innovation and Research Strategy (SNRI).

CeMEB focuses on the following research fields:

• Biodiversity dynamics and evolutive biology
• Functional role of biodiversity and payments for ecosystem
• Health environment
• Environmental socioeconomics
• Biological consequences of global changes
  

8 research units from the following research institutes are involved: CIRAD, CNRS, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, INRA, IRD, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier 1 University, Montpellier 2 University, Montpellier 3 University.

Research units involved:

CEFE (Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology)

ISEM (Institute of Evolutionary Sciences )

MIVEGEC (Genetics and Evolution of Infectious Diseases )

CBGP (Center for Biology and Management of Populations)

AMAP (Botany and Computational Plant Architecture )

ECO& SOLS (Functional Ecology & Biogeochemistry of Soils & Agro-ecosystems)

LAMETA (Theoretical and Applied Economics laboratory)

CBAE (Centre for Bio-Archaeology and Ecology)

Ecotron research platform

 

Further information (in French) >>