Innovating Against Cancer: Highlights from the Polytechnique–Gustave Roussy Symposium

A Strengthened Partnership Between Engineering and Oncology

On May 6, 2026, École Polytechnique hosted the second edition of the Polytechnique – Gustave Roussy Meetings, a seminar dedicated to strengthening collaborations between engineering and health sciences in the service of oncology. Organized and led by Etienne Minvielle, Professor at École Polytechnique and Director of the I3-CRG laboratory, the event brought together high-level researchers, clinicians, and experts, in the presence of Fabrice Barlesi, CEO of Gustave Roussy, Europe’s leading cancer center. For the past two years, the two institutions have been working closely together, as highlighted by Kees van der Beek, Director of Research at École Polytechnique.

Three presentations showcased ongoing research: Patricia Kannouche and Gabriel-Eduardo De matos-Rodrigues from Gustave Roussy, along with Jean-Louis Mergny, a researcher at the Optics and Biosciences Laboratory (LOB) at École Polytechnique, presented their work on the function of a mutagenic DNA polymerase in telomeric replication. Antoine Moya-Plana (Gustave Roussy) and Angelo Pierangelo, a researcher at the Laboratory of Physics of Interfaces and Thin Films (LPICM), are working on the application of Mueller polarimetry, an optical method for detecting cancerous lesions. Alexandra Leary (Gustave Roussy) and Marie-Claire Schanne Klein (LOB) shared their complementary expertise on collagen, a protein that structures many biological tissues, to better understand its role in immune escape in gynecological cancers.

New Potential Synergies 

Furthermore, new avenues for interdisciplinary collaboration were discussed by Etienne Rouleau (Gustave Roussy) and Claire Leclech, a researcher at the Hydrodynamics Laboratory (LadHyX) at École Polytechnique. Among these promising initiatives, Lambros Tselikas (Gustave Roussy) proposed a project to optimize the organization of the operating room in interventional radiology, particularly through the creation of a digital twin. On the side of École Polytechnique and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, synergies are being considered with the expertise of Etienne Minvielle in organization and Elsa Angelini (Telecom Paris, IP Paris) in artificial intelligence and numerical modeling.