Institut Imagine participates in the Pasteur Paris-University (PPU) program for the recruitment of international doctoral students in collaboration with several Parisian universities.
Who is this program for?
It is intended for students who hold a Master's degree (or equivalent) from a university outside France, and who have not worked or resided in France for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to their recruitment (October 1st, 2027).
The selection of the PPU-IMAGINE program is organized by Institut Imagine and selected students carry out their research in one of Institut Imagine lab.
Why join Institut Imagine?
By joining the program, students gain access to a stimulating and ideal environment for the training and career development of young researchers.
In addition, students can expand their knowledge by taking specialized courses and benefiting from an extensive seminar program with speakers from around the world. Students enrolled in the PPU-IMAGINE program will have access to the following activities or workshops offered by the PPU program:
- Oral presentation workshop
- Journal Club
- Scientific Integrity and Ethics Training courses
- French language courses
- Organization of the annual retreat
- Other PPU social activities (Luncheons)
Students are selected on a competitive basis. Candidates are first pre-selected by the host laboratories and their joint applications are then presented to a selection committee.
Doctoral students selected to follow this program at Institut Imagine will benefit from a specific 3-year employment contract with a net pre-tax monthly salary of ca. €2,300 (including health insurance, mutual insurance and provident funds) and the possibility of accommodation at the Cité International Universitaire de Paris.
At the end of their studies (usually three years), students support their PhD according to European guidelines.
Application process
1. Call for applications: the 2026-2027 call for applications begins on October 1st, 2026, and ends on November 16th, 2026. Please see below for the proposed PhD research projects. Candidates may contact potential host laboratories for further information.
Please note that candidates can only apply for a maximum of 2 PPU-IMAGINE projects.
2. Matching between project leaders and candidates from November 17th, 2026, to December 14th, 2026: the project leader selects 1 candidate from the applications received; the project leader and their candidate finalize their joint application by December 14th, 2026. Please note that to carry on with the selection process (joint application), candidates must choose one single project.
3. Pre-selection of candidates: applications are sent to a jury, which ranks and preselects the applications. Candidates will be informed of the status of their application and any follow-up action as of January 2027.
4. Interview week: candidates will be invited to come to Institut Imagine for interview sessions between March 3rd, 2027 and March 5th, 2027. Candidates will then be informed of the follow-up action to their application.
5. Beginning of the thesis: selected candidates are expected to start their PhD at Institut Imagine on October 1st, 2027. Please note that the selected candidates must be affiliated with the university/doctoral school of their host laboratory.
Projects
Candidates are invited to apply through our PPU platform for a maximum of 2 projects of their choice. Summaries of the project proposals can be downloaded using the links below.
PPU-IMAGINE Classic :
- Deciphering the TLR9 paradox through the study of monogenic disease - Project leader: Alice LEPELLEY - Laboratory of Neurogenetics and neuroinflammation
- Viral Memory in the Human Brain: SARS-CoV-2 Imprinting and Long-Term Neurodegenerative Vulnerability. - Project leader: Michela DELEIDI – Laboratory of Mechanisms and therapy of genetic brain diseases
- Genetics of autoimmune hepatitis - Project leader: Aude MAGERUS - Laboratory of Immunogenetics of pediatric autoimmune diseases
- Targeting ALK+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma: from mechanistic Insights to therapy
- Project leader: Erika BRUNET- Laboratory of Genome Dynamics in Human Diseases - Elucidating how fumarate drives mitochondrial vesicle-mediated nucleic acid release and innate immune signalling - Project leader: Julien PRUDENT- Laboratory of
- Gene therapy fOr Alpha-thaLassemia - Project Leader: Annarita MICCIO - Laboratory of Chromatin and gene regulation during development
- An epigenomic ID for improved diagnosis - Project leader: Maud DE DIEULEVEULT- Laboratory of Pathophysiological basis of skeletal dysplasias
- Genetic and immunological basis of fulminant viral hepatitis - Project leader: Emmanuelle JOUANGUY - Laboratory of Human genetics of infectious diseases
- Docking autoimunity to the actin cytoskeleton - Project leader: Frédéric RIEUX-LAUCAT - Laboratory of Immunogenetics of pediatric autoimmune diseases
- Inversin Compartment functions in kidney cystogenesis and fibro-inflammation - Project leader: Amandine VIAU - Laboratory of Hereditary Kidney Diseases
- Development of Patient-Derived Skin Organoids for Disease Modeling and Precision Genome Editing in Junctional and Simplex Epidermolysis Bullosa - Project leader: Araksya IZMIRYAN - Laboratory of Genetic skin diseases: from disease mechanism to therapy
- Exploring interferon-mediated lung inflammation at the cellular spatial level - Project leader : Mickaël Ménager - Laboratory of LabTech Single-Cell@Imagine
- Dissecting the calcium–mitochondria axis as an SMN-independent determinant of motor neuron vulnerability in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) - Project leader: Edor KABASHI - Laboratory of Translational research on neurological diseases
PPU-IMAGINE MD-PhD :
- Deciphering Tooth Eruption Mechanisms Disrupted by FAM20A Mutations in Enamel Renal Syndrome - Project leader: Nunthawan NOWWAROTE - Laboratory of Pathophysiological basis of skeletal dysplasias
- Patient-to-therapy: phenotypic drug discovery for personalized treatment of ALS - Project leader: Sorana CIURA - Laboratory of Laboratory of Translational research on neurological diseases
To apply
The call for applications is now open! Please sign in or create an account on our PPU platform following the link : click here to access to the PPU-platform to apply for a maximum of 2 projects of your choice.
If you need more information, please contact the PPU-IMAGINE Team at callapplication@institutimagine.org
Language requirements
The program is run in English and therefore fluency in English is required. Any knowledge of French is not ultimately necessary. French language courses are part of the trainings offered during the first year of the PPU-IMAGINE PhD program.
To see more!
The videos below feature two PPU-IMAGINE students sharing their insights on the PPU-IMAGINE program. It might offer some useful takeaways. We recommend giving it a look!
