Master in Biomedical Engineering: Molecular and Cellular Biotherapies (MCB)

The BME PARIS master’s program is designed to provide a 2-year education program in the field of bioengineering, at the crossroad of biomedical and engineering science. It is based on an educational policy that fosters both an interdisciplinary, international perspective as well as the students’ initiative. It combines the top-level and complementary expertise of three partners: engineering science represented by three engineering schools within PSL (Chimie Paris, ESPCI Paris and Mines Paris) and Arts et Métiers on one hand, and biomedical and health science at Université Paris Cité, on the other hand. Teaching faculty comes mostly from the partner institutions. Guest lecturers include hospital clinicians (APHP), and researchers from other schools and universities as well as from private companies (e.g. GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Renault, Sanofi, Thalès, Materialise Medical, etc.).
The 1st year is a common path for all BME students (with individualized choices of courses according to their background). The 2nd year is intended to specialize student’s capacities in dedicated engineering and biomedical tracks. Five specialization tracks are proposed, one of them being the Molecular and Cellular Biotherapies Track (MCB).
The MCB track concerns two major categories of biotherapeutics applications: cell and gene therapy, and biopharmaceuticals. Cell and gene therapy differs from drug therapy in that it concerns the use of ‘custom or « à la carte » therapeutic agents created for a individual patients, a domain in which few manufacturers operate. Biopharmaceuticals are complex macromolecules created by biotechnology, and involve genetic manipulation of living organisms, which differ from conventional chemically synthesized small molecules.
The specific pharmacological and immunological features of biotherapy products, considered to constitute a new generation of drugs, are studied in conjunction with the characteristics of target populations, clinical follow-up, and biological monitoring.
The aim of this track is to train students of advanced scientific level in the field of biotherapy in order to prepare for careers in academia. These students may also find opportunities in industry at the national, European, and international level, particularly in biotechnology and medical research laboratories in teaching hospitals) , as well as in cell and gene therapy firms.