Presentation

The STEP Mixed Research Unit (UMR-S), established in 2024 by Inserm and the University of Strasbourg, was formed through the merger of the former UMR-S 1114 (Dr Giersch’s laboratory) and UMR-S 1118 (Dr Dupuis’s laboratory). Its members (around a hundred in 2026) conduct multidisciplinary research in neurobiology in the field of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, focusing in particular on diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. Dr Luc Dupuis, appointed head of this UMR-S, is assisted by several co-directors leading the three research teams:

• Psychiatry Team (led by Dr Anne Giersch). Their research focuses on the study of various psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, ADHD, mood disorders, etc.) through their impact on cognitive processes such as attention, time perception and motivation. Understanding the pathophysiology of these disorders, identifying new biomarkers and seeking new therapeutic targets are the main objectives of this team.
• Addiction Team (co-led by Dr Laurence Lalanne and Dr Emmanuel Darcq). They study the mechanisms underlying opioid, alcohol and cannabis addiction in relation to psychiatric comorbidities.
• ALS-FTD Team (led by Dr Caroline Rouaux). The team focuses its research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), two related neurodegenerative diseases considered to represent the two extremes of a genetic, pathological and clinical continuum.