International
Call for applications – Charles Nicolle Research Chair with the Institut Pasteur de Tunis
Do you have a research interest in common with the Institut Pasteur de Tunis? The Charles Nicolle Research Chair gives you the opportunity to host an early career scientist in your laboratory. The call for applications will run until April, 2026.
To get a better idea of how the program works, read on for feedback on the past five months from the first chair holder and the host unit, Lyssavirus Epidemiology and Neuropathology, led by Professor Hervé Bourhy.
The first holder of the Charles Nicolle Research Chair | The power of science to change individual lives, Dr. Maryem Djebali, was hosted at the Institut Pasteur in Paris in the Lyssavirus Epidemiology and Neuropathology laboratory, which houses the National Reference Center (CNR) for Rabies and the WHO Collaborating Center, and is a consortium member of the EU Reference Laboratory for Public Health in the field of emerging, rodent-borne and zoonotic viral pathogens.
She was supervised by Dr. Perrine Parize, Deputy Director of the CNR for Rabies, for clinical aspects and preparations for field work, Dr. Katherine Worsley-Tonks, a postdoctoral fellow in the unit, for mapping and phylogeny, and Dr. Said Mougari, Deputy Director of the CNR for Rabies, for diagnostic training.
Read on for the interviews with Maryem Djebali, Katherine Worsley-Tonks, Hervé Bourhy and Said Mougari about the experience of this first Research Chair.
Maryem, what made you decide to apply for this grant?
"As a trained veterinarian, it was a great opportunity to be hosted in a National Reference Center for Rabies in the field of human health and to contribute to a public health challenge that is still highly relevant today. Despite scientific progress, rabies is still a severe, preventable disease that claims nearly 60,000 human lives every year worldwide, mainly following bites from infected dogs.
In Tunisia, where I work, rabies is endemic. The country, situated at the crossroads of North Africa, shares borders with Algeria and Libya, and the level of circulation of the virus varies from one year to the next. Dogs are the main reservoir for the disease, accounting for more than 60% of cases of animal rabies. An increase was observed in 2024, with ten human cases reported, highlighting the urgent need for prevention and surveillance.
In this context, despite the existing measures, we need to improve our scientific knowledge on this topic at international level. That was why I turned to the Lyssavirus Epidemiology and Neuropathology Unit at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, which houses the WHO Collaborating Center for Rabies."
Maryem Djebali
From the perspective of your laboratory, how was this project developed with the Institut Pasteur de Tunis in connection with the grant?
"We had already been working with the Institut Pasteur de Tunis (IPT) for many years, but on an occasional basis, through scientific contacts or international events, with no formal framework and no regular exchanges between staff. The grant represented an opportunity to formalize the partnership.
The development of this project provided us with the impetus to sit down together – we held several preparatory meetings and decided with our partners at the IPT what our joint priority topics would be."
Hervé Bourhy
"The project came together gradually and collaboratively. We identified several possible research areas, then redefined them over the course of our discussions, taking into account the time constraints – particularly the length of the internship – and expertise that we could draw on from both sides. The entire laboratory team was involved, everyone contributing their own expertise, whether in terms of clinical and investigation aspects, training in diagnostics or more cross-cutting spatial data analysis. This collective dynamic was one of the strengths of the project."
Said Mougari
Maryem, how did you experience these five months on campus, and what lessons did you learn?
"This grant gave me much more than just a framework to complete an internship. It gave me the opportunity to work in a National Reference Center (CNR) at the Institut Pasteur, to strengthen my knowledge by attending the Emerging Viruses course taught by the Department of Education, to work at different technology core facilities, to encounter new expertise and new ways of thinking about research and public health, and to compare my real-life experience in the field with that of the unit. More broadly, the internship enabled me to hone my own scientific approach.
As well as the scientific results, the experience confirmed my deep-held belief that the only way to deal with diseases that know no borders, like rabies, is by means of a collective, international approach. With this grant, I was able to fully experience what collaboration means: it's about creating a space that fosters sharing, transfer and trust, where scientific heritage drives future innovation and partnerships. This collaborative experience was particularly relevant in light of WHO's goal to eradicate rabies by 2030. I hope that our collaboration will continue over the long term."
Maryem Djebali
"The input of three members of the team helped Maryem get more closely involved in the laboratory's activities. It was important for her to come into contact with a range of different areas of expertise to give her a broad overview of research on rabies. I hope that this internship gave Maryem an insight into different topics that will help her choose a specialization for her future career depending on her interests."
Said Mougari
What did you get out of hosting a researcher from the IPT?
"After many years working with the Institut Pasteur de Tunis on a sporadic basis, the Charles Nicolle Chair was an opportunity to formalize our collaboration based on a shared topic of interest, rabies. This partnership was beneficial for both our institutions. We would not have got as much out of it without extensive prior preparation – we identified several approaches so that we could adapt as best as possible and respect the time frame."
Hervé Bourhy
"As well as strengthening the skills of a new staff member at the Institut Pasteur de Tunis in the areas of virology and the One Health approach, this grant was an opportunity for mutual learning with access to a more field-based view. As a WHO Collaborating Center, the host laboratory was given an insight into the epidemiological realities in Tunisia, the challenges of field work and the lessons that can be drawn from research carried out at a local level. These transfers of knowledge also improve our understanding of regional dynamics, especially in North Africa. The grant was also an opportunity to lay the foundations for a long-term partnership, with specific prospects for pursing research, joint publications and new projects. In our view, that is where the real interest lies – the Research Chair is an effective driver for launching and strengthening collaboration with the Institut Pasteur de Tunis, over and above the internship itself."
Katherine Worsley-Tonks
More information about the Charles Nicolle Chair (in French)
