From October 16th to October 19th, over 150 members of the research teams of the department Genomes and Genetics and their affiliated research unit at the Pasteur Institute gathered in Pornichet. Over the three days of an intense program of high-level scientific presentations, we found time for many discussions and exchanges on the various subjects studied in the department. We were delighted to host a colleague from the Institute Pasteur of Cambodia, Dr Koen Vandelannoote who presented his work on understanding the phylogenomic aspects of a recent outbreak of the bacterium Salmonella enteric in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
We also took advantage of this retreat to reach out to the public in Pornichet, through three actions:
1- A presentation on Microbes at the Saint Jean primary school. 14 volunteers of the department did not hesitate to brave the wind to cycle to the school to share with all the children their passion for science and the microbes.
2- A presentation on Louis Pasteur and the Institut Pasteur by David Viterbo and Guy-Franck Richard at the retirement houses of Pornichet (Résidence Criesker and Résidence Côte d’Amour)
4- A ciné-discussion at the Médiathèque of Pornichet where two members of the department, Nicolas Rascovan and Yann Aquino, discussed with the public about the human conquest of the Americas over 10000 years ago following the projection of a documentary on the topic.
