Winter School Extracellular vesicles in health and disease (2026)

Coordinators

coordinator 1 name + email
coordinator 2 name + email
coordinator 3 name + email

Locations

Conferences:
SOPHIATECH Campus - 1645 route ds Lucioles, 06410 Biot
  Find the location on maps

Worskshops:
IPMC - Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire
660 route ds Lucioles , 06560 Valbonne
Find the location on maps

Dates

Monday 14th to Friday 18th
December 2026

REGISTRATION

SIGN UP FOR THE "EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES" WINTER SCHOOL

​ ​
Overview

Welcome to the Extracellular Vesicles in Health and Disease Winter School 2026, an opportunity for focused learning, academic exchange, and intellectual growth!

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are tiny cell-derived messengers that carry molecular information reflecting the state of their parent cells. They play important roles in maintaining normal body functions, including immune regulation, tissue repair, and cell communication. However, EVs can also contribute to disease by promoting cancer progression, spreading infections, and transporting toxic proteins in neurodegenerative disorders. Their dual role in health and disease makes EVs promising tools for diagnosis and therapy. 

This winter school will cover basic aspects of EVs, technical approaches, but also translational aspects including the potential of EVs as biomarkers and therapeutics. The morning sessions will be dedicated to seminars by experts in the field of EVs presenting the different types of EVs, their nomenclature and mode of biogenesis, secretion and uptake mechanisms. Specific examples of EV functions in both physiology and pathology will also be provided. We will discuss how to explore EV function in vitro and in vivo, and lastly, we will address the potential of EVs as disease biomarkers or new therapeutic tools. Some presentations will be dedicated to Biotech’s that emerges from the field of EVs.

In the afternoon sessions, we will introduce the different methods to isolate and study EVs. Moreover, we will present how to characterize EVs using both bulk and single EV analysis technologies. Three afternoon sections will be used for workshop sessions allowing the students to familiarise with key techniques to study EVs. These workshops will take place at the Institute Of Molecular And Cellular Pharmacology (IPMC) in Sophia-Antipolis, which is easily accessible by bus.

Where and when?

The WInter School takes places from Dec. 14th to 18th, 2026 at both Sophiatech "Lucioles" Campus (for conferences) and IPMC Institute (for afternoon workshops), in the Sophia-Antipolis area (about 20km from Nice, accessible by bus)

Registration

  • Registration is free but mandatory.
  • Be aware that places are limited.
  • Deadline : Please register before Tuesday December 1st, to help us prepare a meaningful and well-organized experience tailored to your participation.


We look forward to seeing you!

Program
Day 1 - Monday, Dec. 14th: Basic aspects - Extracellular Vesicles subtypes

One sentence to explain what day 1 is about.
Example: Introduce participants to the concept of One Health: its origins, core principles, and what they can expect from this program.

  • 9:30-10:00 AM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

  • 10:00-10:30 PM - Coffee break

  • 10h30-12:00 PM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

  • 12:00-1:30 PM - Lunch break

  • 1:30PM-5:00 PM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

Day 2 - Tuesday, Dec. 16th: Extracellular Vesicles in Brain Physiology and Pathology

One sentence to explain what day 2 is about.
Example: Introduce participants to the concept of One Health: its origins, core principles, and what they can expect from this program.

  • 9:30-10:00 AM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

  • 10:00-10:30 PM - Coffee break

  • 10h30-12:00 PM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

  • 12:00-1:30 PM - Lunch break

  • 1:30PM-5:00 PM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

Day 3 - Wednesday, Dec. 17th: Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer

One sentence to explain what day 3 is about.
Example: Introduce participants to the concept of One Health: its origins, core principles, and what they can expect from this program.

  • 9:30-10:00 AM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

  • 10:00-10:30 PM - Coffee break

  • 10h30-12:00 PM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

  • 12:00-1:30 PM - Lunch break

  • 1:30-5:00 PM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

Day 4 - Thursday, Dec. 17th: Extracellular Vesicles Functions

One sentence to explain what day 4 is about.
Example: Introduce participants to the concept of One Health: its origins, core principles, and what they can expect from this program.

  • 9:30-10:00 AM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

  • 10:00-10:30 PM - Coffee break

  • 10h30-12:00 PM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

  • 12:00-1:30 PM - Lunch break

  • 1:30-5:00 PM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

Day 5 - Friday, Dec. 18th: Extracellular Vesicles as Disease Biomarkers or Therapeutic Targets

One sentence to explain what day 5 is about.
Example: Introduce participants to the concept of One Health: its origins, core principles, and what they can expect from this program.

  • 9:30-10:00 AM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

  • 10:00-10:30 PM - Coffee break

  • 10h30-12:00 PM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

  • 12:00-1:30 PM - Lunch break

  • 1:30-5:00 PM - Title
    Details:
    Format:
    Speaker:

PROGRAM DOWNLOAD (coming soon)

Target audience

Who can attend the Extracellular Vesicles in Health & Disease Winter Winter School 2026 ?
 

SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY

  • The Extracellular Vesicles in Health & Disease Winter School is open to any member of the international community of Université Côte d'Azur: students, post-doctoral fellows, researchers, and collaborators...

PHD STUDENTS

  • PHD students have no obligation to attend the entire winter school
  • They can attend from half a day to the full week
  • Hours will be validated based on the seminars the students choose to attend (attendance sheet to be completed)
  • PHD students must registrer via the ADUM platform:
> Registration on the ADUM PLATFORM for PHD Students


MASTER STUDENTS

  • Students from Université Côte d'Azur "Science du Vivant" Master's degree
    This Winter School is mandatory for students who chose the "Winter School UE".
    These students don't need to register via the registration form on this page since they're automatically enroled as part of their training.
  • Students from Masters degrees other than "Science du Vivant"
    Students from other Masters degrees are welcome, but they must register using the general sign-up form
How to Come

How to get to SOPHIATECH "Luciolles" Campus?

  • SOPHIATECH Campus is located in Biot, about 20km away from Nice city center.
  • Address: 1645 route ds Lucioles, 06410 Biot
  • GPS Coordinates: 43.617202186579874, 7.065217481514863
 Find it on maps

How to get to IPMC Institute?

  • IPMC – Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire is about 20km away from Nice city center
  • Address: 660 Rte des Lucioles, 06560 Valbonne
  • GPS Coordinates: 43.618903481305445, 7.053396437333012
Find it on maps

Get to the Winter School by bus

From Nice / Nice Airport

Use the "TAM" bus network
One-way ticket price: €2.50
Bus lines "ZOU Nice-Sophia Express": 630/631, 632 & 637
> Get on at "GRAND ARENAS" stop
> Get off at "LES BELUGUES" stop for IPMC
> Get off at "M.I.A" stop for SophiaTech Lucioles Campus

From Antibes

Use the Envibus Antibes local bus network
One-way ticket price: €1.50
Bus line: B
> Get on at "CHAUDON" stop (rue Directeur Chaudon)
> Get off at "ALBERT EINSTEIN" stop for IPMC
> Get off at "M.I.A" stop for SophiaTech Lucioles Campus

Team and Sponsors

Organizing Committee

The strength of this Winter School lies in its people.
The Organizing Committee represents a collaboration of disciplines and perspectives, all aligned to create a week where knowledge meets opportunity :

  • Pierre ABAD - Research Director - INRAE ISA

  • Leila BENSAHIH - MSc BOOST Coordinator - UniCA ISA

  • Guillaume CHAUDE - Communication officer - EUR LIFE

  • Line-Aurore MARCH - Educational Engineer - EUR LIFE

  • Gaëlle YOUSSEF - International program coordinator - EUR LIFE

Partners & Sponsors

Example : At the heart of our interdisciplinary research school lies a shared conviction: the challenges of One Health—where human, animal, and environmental well-being intersect—demand bold collaboration. We are profoundly grateful to our sponsors, whose visionary support transforms this ambition into reality. By investing in the next generation of researchers, these partners enable students to bridge disciplines, dismantle silos, and co-create solutions for a healthier planet. 

Université Côte d’Azur


IPMC – Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire

Ecole Universitaire de Recherche en Sciences du vivant et de la santé (EUR Life)

Partenaire 4

Partenaire 5

Partenaire 6