Spring and Summer in Paris – une vraie sabbatique by Professor Stephen HarrapJuly 2009
After 13 years as Head of the Department of Physiology and never having found the time or opportunity previously, I thought it was time to take a sabbatical and where better than in Paris and when better than in spring and summer.
As a result of pre-existing links with Professor Pierre Corvol, I began as a Professeur Invité for the Collège de France for the month of May. The Collège is an interesting institution indeed. Founded in 1530 it is very much a dynamic and in some ways fluid organization. It supports research and teaching based around discipline specific chairs that range from physics to linguistics. However, none of these are set in stone and the Collège can respond to changing times by altering the discipline nature of the chairs. The teaching is flexible too. The Collège does not enroll students and it does not award degrees. Instead, Professors present academic courses, seminars and symposia for cognate topics that are open to all. There is active research going on within the Collège as well and the libraries collections are among the best in the world in certain areas. For my part, I delivered 4 lectures on my research and interacted with the relevant research groups.
The Centre de Recherche and the Georges Pompidou Hospital (HEGP) with the Eiffel Tower in the distance
Since June I have been based in the Research Centre of the brand new Georges Pompidou Hospital in the 15th arrondissement – just across the river from Roland Garros. It has been constructed in an area that once was the site of the Citroën factory.
HEGP from the air.
One can take a balloon ride in the adjacent Parc André Citroën to get a bird’s eye view of the hospital and then walk inside the entrance that resembles a 5-star hotel rather than a hospital.
The Research Centre is situated on a street looking down towards the Eiffel Tower and houses some terrific research groups of international renown. I’m working with the group of Xavier Jeunemaître until September and having a great time getting back into the lab and learning some new methods as part of a series of experiments related to the genetics of blood pressure.
The entrance foyer of HEGP (on a Sunday morning).
There is a long and proud history of links between France and Australia in the cardiovascular field (as well as others), but they need to be maintained and nurtured by personal contact and commitment – the sort of thing that is no better achieved than through a sabbatical.
The balloon above the Parc André Citroën next to HEGP.
My sabbatical is really only part of a growth in collaborative projects and exchanges for our respective laboratories (and hopefully more broadly). But someone has to make the sacrifice and steel themselves for 5 months in Paris!