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The inspiring European success of two Bordeaux based researchers

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Isabelle Dupin and Xavier Prévost, professors at the University of Bordeaux and laureates of a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council announced on December 3rd 2024, show that creativity and interdisciplinarity can open doors at the European level. Between personal challenges, institutional support and renewed ambitions, a behind-the-scenes look at two intersecting paths.

Photo : Xavier Prévost and Isabelle Dupin have both been awarded a European Research Council grant © Gautier Dufau
Xavier Prévost and Isabelle Dupin have both been awarded a European Research Council grant © Gautier Dufau

They don't know each other - yet. She is a professor of physiology, he is a professor of legal history. Two completely different disciplines, even though they work a few kilometres from each other, between the Montesquieu campus and the Xavier Arnozan hospital site, at opposite ends of Pessac, south of the Bordeaux metropolitan area. And yet, Isabelle Dupin and Xavier Prévost are now united as University of Bordeaux laureates of a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant. One of the most competitive grants - 10 to 15% success rate - and also one of the most lucrative for a researcher, totalling almost 2 million euros. They have other things in common, even if Isabelle Dupin's Kintsugi project1 focuses on lung resilience, while Xavier Prévost's ISTHisFrench2 focuses on the legal dimension of the Renaissance humanist movement.

Both studied at an Institute of Advanced Education (École normale supérieure - ENS): law, economics and management (ENS Cachan) for one, biology, physics and chemistry (ENS Ulm) for the other. An early interdisciplinary approach that has stayed with them ever since. Last March, Xavier Prévost even became project manager for interdisciplinarity (in French) at the University of Bordeaux, and Isabelle Dupin explains that "it is a central theme that has shaped [her] career".

Stepping stones to Europe

Both are also junior members of the Institut universitaire de France (IUF), the legal expert since 2020 and the biologist since 2023. Each year, this programme rewards lecturer-researchers for the excellence of their work, offering them additional resources and reducing their teaching load, allowing them to devote themselves fully to research for five years. The IUF also encourages researchers to plan for an expansion towards Europe and an ERC grant, explains the lecturer-researcher from the Montesquieu Research Institute (IRM) at the University of Bordeaux. "The idea germinated in my head. With the IUF, I had been able to set up international collaborations and I wanted to be able to continue to have funding, as my delegation was coming to an end. I had time, so I gave it a go".

Because yes, it is commonly thought that the ERC is a mountain to be climbed. "It's a lot of work, but not the mountain we imagine," continues he who contacted, as early as spring 2022, the Europe Bureau of the Proposals & Projects Support Office (SMSP) of the university's Research and valorisation division for a submission in December 2023. "In my opinion, it is a project which, unusual in its method of construction for French researchers, requires a long period of development. Many things change between the beginning of the writing and the final version. It is important to take the time to assimilate, to reflect and to be receptive to criticism, without calling everything into question."

Time and also having a specific question, says Isabelle Dupin. "If the question is not worded correctly, the answer will not be relevant. You have to imagine having all the necessary resources and clearly defining the research question you want to answer".

  • [Portrait] Kintsugi, a fresh breath of research for Isabelle Dupin (in French)

    Read more

  • [Portrait] Xavier Prévost redraws the contours of legal humanism (in French)

    Read more

This view is shared by Alice Recalde, project development engineer at the SMSP, who supported the biologist. "Isabelle quickly had a very detailed idea of her project, the people she would need to carry it out and the budget she would require. From our very first meeting, she presented her project to me in a very clear way and I was immediately convinced that it had a very high potential for success."

Looking for creative and independent minds

Submitting this grant application allowed her to take a step back, admits the scientist from the Bordeaux Cardio-Thoracic Research Centre (CRCTB)3, to reflect on her career and clarify her aspirations for the future.

 

"It was a blank page, it was both frightening and fascinating." For her also, you shouldn't hesitate to apply. "A good application and a solid project are essential, but it's not vital to have three articles in Nature and four in Science. The ERC is looking for creative and independent minds above all else". The two lecturer-researchers emphasise the importance of support from the university at all stages.

The candidates were assisted with the written section thanks to the Support Europe programme, which funds an external consultancy firm to provide writing assistance, supplemented by weekly monitoring by the Europe Bureau to frame the project and manage the technical, administrative and budgetary aspects. This support also includes personalised coaching, a mock oral presentation with experts, English lessons, and in-house coaching to perfect their presentation. The oral is a special ERC exercise and relatively short: a 3-minute presentation for Xavier Prévost, the double4 for Isabelle Dupin, followed by questions, all in 30 minutes flat... and by video in front of a panel of 18 researchers gathered at the ERC site in Brussels.
And finally, the results! "I had prepared myself to not get it and to bounce back," says Isabelle Dupin. "If it hadn't been selected, I would have found another way to carry out this project because I really believe in it." The ERC can sometimes be like a roller coaster, as Xavier Prévost found out. He found himself on a waiting list that lasted barely... 24 hours! "I am aware that my subject is erudite in part; I am not going to cure cancer, but that is also what research is. Supporting this type of project is a real gamble for Europe, especially in a discipline that usually receives little funding."

A call to be daring and not hold back

Xavier Prévost has achieved a double first: he is the first legal historian to win an ERC in France and the first to obtain such a distinction in the humanities and social sciences (excluding archaeology) at the University of Bordeaux, says Armelle Gaulier, European and international project development engineer, who supported the researcher.

"It's a very encouraging sign because it is always said that humanities and social science laboratories do not submit projects at the European level. It seems that the trend is being reversed." An opportunity that the legal expert is keen to seize. "This is a turning point in my career. It's amazing to think that it could take me all the way to 2030, with the possibility of forming a team and revitalising my discipline. I'm happy, the work has paid off," concludes Xavier Prévost.

Their joy is shared by the members of the Europe Bureau, who provided daily support to the two lecturer-researchers. "Obtaining two new ERCs at the University of Bordeaux is an encouraging sign for our results within this programme, as the university traditionally performs better on European collaborative projects. It is interesting to see that these successes are part of a notable trajectory: our two winners have benefited from stepping stones such as the IUF, and for Isabelle Dupin, a young researcher grant from the National Research Agency (ANR), reinforcing their progress," emphasises Camille Le Borgne, head of the Europe Bureau. "Thanks to the support of our system and the project engineers, including proofreading and consultancy, these results remind lecturer-researchers that they definitely should not censor themselves when faced with European opportunities!" A call to the community, then...

1Kintsugi - Unveiling lung resilience mechanisms: a ground-breaking way to cope with air pollution, allocated nearly 2 million euros
2ISTHisFrench - The so-called mos gallicus: In Search of a Transnational History of the « French method of teaching law », allocated more than 1.8 million euros
3Inserm and University of Bordeaux unit
4The duration of the oral interviews varies according to the ERC panel. There are currently 27 panels in three main fields: physics and engineering (10 panels), life sciences (9 panels) and humanities and social sciences (8 panels)

The ERC and the University of Bordeaux

Created in 2007, the European Research Council (ERC) awards individual research grants to talented scientists every year. These include the ERC Consolidator Grant calls, which are intended to support researchers with between 7 and 12 years of postdoctoral experience (or professional equivalent) after their doctorate. The aim is to help these scientists, with a grant of 1.5 to 2 million euros over five years, to consolidate their research group or scientific project, and to achieve a position of leadership in their field.

328 scientists have been awarded funding in the ERC Consolidator Grant 2024 call for a total of 678 million euros (see ERC press release).

The campus is home to numerous ERC-funded projects in its various research laboratories, supported by the University of Bordeaux or research organisations (CNRS, Inserm, etc.).
For its part, the University of Bordeaux currently has 5 ERCs:

  • 2 ERC Starting Grants (young researchers): Luc Doyon of the PACEA laboratory - From prehistory to present times: culture, environment and anthropology (CNRS unit, Ministry of Culture and University of Bordeaux) for the ExOsTech project (2024) and Aurélien Bustin, holder of a junior professorship at the IHU Liryc for the SMHEART project (2022)
  • 2 ERC Consolidator Grants: Isabelle Dupin and Xavier Prévost
  • 1 ERC Advanced Grant (experienced researchers): Michel Haïssaguerre, founder of IHU Liryc, professor of cardiology at the University of Bordeaux and hospital practitioner at Bordeaux University Hospital for the HELP project (2021)

Contacts

  • Isabelle Dupin

    Professor of physiology
    Bordeaux Cardio-Thoracic Research Centre

    isabelle.dupin%40u-bordeaux.fr

  • Xavier Prévost

    Professor of legal history
    Montesquieu Research Institute

    xavier.prevost%40u-bordeaux.fr

  • Delphine Charles

    Scientific Communication Officer

    delphine.charles%40u-bordeaux.fr

Find out more about the Support Europe programme