In order to fulfil the new mission entrusted to the CSM by HSH Prince Albert II, one of the chosen topics was to boost and promote clinical research in the Principality. Since its creation in 2009, the Human Health Unit has focused primarily on this area.

The CSM’s Human Health Unit comprises :

- Activities to evaluate, support and fund institutional clinical research in the Principality of Monaco, set up in 2009 through an annual call for projects;

- «Health & Environment» activities, launched in 2012 and focusing on the impact of environmental change on human health.
 

Environmental Health theme

Launched in 2012, this axis consists in teaching, training, publications and scientific and general public communications on the consequences of environmental change for human health, with two main themes:

- The study of the benefits and risks to human health of the oceans, in particular climate change and pollution.

- The environmental and human health impacts of the production, use and disposal of plastics and their chemical additives.

The Human Health Unit  has coordinated two synthesis reports on this  topic:

In 2020, Human Health and Ocean Pollution

In 2023, The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health

Clinical Research theme 

Its activities essentially consist in an annual call for proposals aimed at funding clinical research projects taking place in healthcare facilities of the Principality of Monaco, with the following objectives:

• Support and boost Monegasque clinical research to promote medical progress,

• Helping to improve the quality of care by evaluating new diagnostic and therapeutic methods,

• Scientifically validate new medical knowledge,

• Encourage collaboration between health professionals and between healthcare facilities.

Calls for proposals are «open» and cover all areas of clinical research. Projects may concern therapeutic evaluation, assessment of technologies and innovations, prevention, diagnostic strategies, quality of care and risk analysis, in all medical or surgical disciplines. However, priority is given to projects dealing with ageing and/or cancer and, since 2024, to projects involving the CSM’s research teams.

The Human Health Unit provides financial, methodological and regulatory support to project leaders, assists teams in implementing their projects and regularly monitors their progress, both scientifically and in terms of the use of the funds allocated. It is the contact point for the healthcare institutions involved (CHPG, CCM, IM2S, CHPM).

Since 2009, this activity has attracted sustained interest from the Monegasque medical community, thanks to the number of clinical research projects funded (in 15 years, the CSM has received 80 projects and funded 50 of them), as well as enabling the implementation of partnerships of excellence in collaborative projects with other institutions (Cancer Centers, University Hospitals) and research organizations (CNRS, INSERM).
 

Our collaborations

• Global Observatory on Planetary Health of the Boston College, USA
• Minderoo Foundation, Australia
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, USA
• Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Germany
• Princess Grace Hospital (CHPG), Monaco
• Monaco Institute of Sports Medicine and Surgery (IM2S)
• Monaco Cardiothoracic Centre (CCM)