The CMA CGM Group, a world market leader in shipping, land, air and logistics solutions, and Aix-Marseille University (AMU) have announced the creation of the region’s first dedicated health Chair. Set up with the medical and paramedical sciences faculty of Aix-Marseille University, the Chair is designed to support the University’s research and training efforts relating to major public health issues, in particular neurology and oncology.

The region’s first dedicated health chair for medical research, training care workers and improving quality of life for oncology and neurology patients

Driven by strong human values and with firm roots in its local region, the CMA CGM Group has demonstrated its commitment to supporting health and medical innovation by funding this chair with Aix-Marseille University. The result of a collaboration between two leading names in the region that share the values of solidarity and innovation, the Chair will work to support training, research and quality of healthcare. These efforts, aimed in particular at hospital and patients, will be in line with the values of excellence and societal commitment promoted by Aix-Marseille University.

The NeuroMarseille institute and the Cancer and Immunology Institute will be at the heart of the Chair. The outcome of an interdisciplinary approach, they authorize cross-training and research at a high level. They also provide programs to develop clinical applications to help patients.

The Chair’s work will be based on the following aims:

• Enhancing research: attracting young researchers in the fields of oncology and neurology, offering postdoctoral bursaries for three to four years, as well as awarding prizes to the best theses in these fields.
• Developing training: supporting the careers of young doctors by funding placements outside the Aix-Marseille University hospital system. These placements will enable them to train in new medical techniques that they will be able to implement on returning to the hospital. The Chair will also fund doctoral contracts for theses in oncology and neurosciences.
• Improving care services and patients’ quality of life: supporting ambitious research projects and the purchasing of equipment with a significant potential impact in the area of clinical research and therefore for patients.

CMA CGM and Aix-Marseille University working to support health and medical innovation in the Aix-Marseille region

CMA CGM is committed to supporting the development and advancement of Marseille and the surrounding region, helping residents and their health with this chair. Based in Marseille since it was founded in 1978, the Group works at grassroots level in order to have a positive social impact on the region with which it has particularly strong ties and where more than 2,900 of its employees live.

Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, comments: “The pandemic has reminded us how important the role of health professionals is. We are therefore proud to support them through the creation of the first Chair of Medical Research at Aix-Marseille Université. Our donation will underpin their mission: training, conducting research projects, treating and improving the quality of life of patients.”

Georges Leonetti, Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Paramedical Sciences at Aix-Marseille Université, adds: “This donation will have a significant impact. It will increase our ability to attract the best young researchers and also fund placements to support the transfer of knowledge and new medical techniques in the interests of patients in Marseille.”

Éric Berton, President of Aix-Marseille University, stresses: “We are particularly delighted about this Chair, which will enable us to step up our efforts in terms of research and training significantly. The links between the CMA CGM Group and Aix-Marseille University also sends out a strong signal to the whole population of Marseille and beyond, to our entire region, as they demonstrate our ability to take action and cooperate with the corporate world in order to achieve progress for society and the community.”