Our Inserm UMR-S 1193 unit (“Physiopathogenesis and Treatment of Liver Diseases”), also known by the acronym “HEPAREG”, is dedicated to research activities focused on liver diseases.

In this context, our research is structured around several interconnected thematic axes:

1. The study of pathophysiological mechanisms (genetic, molecular and cellular), with a view to discovering therapeutic targets: this axis crosses all the teams of the unit, but it represents above all the core of the activities of teams 3 and 4, in the context of liver cancers on the one hand (team 3), and in the context of cholestatic diseases, steatosis and liver repair on the other hand (team 4);
2. Hepatobiliary bioconstruction aimed at building hepatic organoids and bile tubes, with both mechanistic and translational perspectives (modeling of hepatobiliary diseases, treatment of liver failures, toxicology), is at the center of the projects of teams 2 and 4;
3. Mathematical modeling of liver diseases and hepatobiliary surgery. This topic is explored by team 1, which is a joint Inserm/INRIA team.

UMR_S 1193 is located within the University of Paris-Saclay on two sites :

• Paul Brousse Hospital (Villejuif) on the one hand (teams 1, 2 and 3),
• and the Henri Moissan building (Orsay) on the other hand (team 4).

Our unit was created in 2015, renewed in 2020 (DU: Didier Samuel, then Jean-Charles Duclos-Vallée (DU) and Thierry Tordjmann (Co-DU)) and significantly redesigned in our project for a new unit created for 5 years from January 2026 (DU: Thierry Tordjmann, Co-DU: Jean-Charles Duclos-Vallée).

UMR_S 1193 constitutes a privileged and unique ecosystem, endowed with a very rich environment that is both clinical (medical and surgical hepatology) and scientific (researchers and technicians), within which interactive projects are developed in the general framework of the prevention and treatment of severe liver diseases. Bidirectional interactions are fostered between clinicians and scientists: on the one hand, projects addressing a clinical problem (medical or surgical), the analysis or mechanistic exploration of which will trigger a link to more biological research; on the other hand, projects stemming from a more fundamental approach, the development of which can lead to the identification of diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic targets. The reorganizations carried out to create our new unit promote clinician-researcher interactions; thus, our unit has been enriched by the contribution of new strengths within the various teams:

• Team 1 is enriched with staff from the former U1197 Inserm, strengthening the research potential in the field of stem cells and extracellular vesicles;
• Team 2 includes a team of mathematicians from INRIA and will be labeled Inserm/INRIA, as well as a chronobiology group;
• Team 3 recruited a young researcher specializing in microbiota-cancer interactions as well as a clinician oncologist;
• Team 4 has been enriched by a group of experts in cytoskeletal cell biology, thus constituting a unique opportunity to integrate liver cell biology in a pathophysiological or clinical context.