Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML) was founded in 1976 and has been described by AERES, an independent evaluation agency, as "without doubt one of the best immunology centers of excellence in Europe". The CIML addresses all areas of contemporary immunology; it is located in Marseille in the South of France.
Function
The institute has 17 research teams, with 250 staff including 185 scientists, students, and post-docs from 24 countries. It offers Masters and PhD programs.
The CIML has 90 academic collaborations and 21 industrial partners in France, Europe, and worldwide, and has formed several spin-offs, including: Innate Pharma, Ipsogen (Quiagen), and Immunotech (Beckman-Coulter).
The institute has published over 400 scientific publications in the last 5 years, including 145 in journals with an impact factor ≥ 10.
It is located on a science campus that is home to more than 1,500 researchers and 10,000 students, and 15 biotech companies.
Directors
François Kourilsky, 1976–1977
Michel Fougerau 1978–1980
François Kourilsky, 1981–1984
Pierre Golstein, 1985-1988
Bertrand Jordan, 1989–1990
Michel Pierres, 1991–1994
Bernard Malissen, 1995-2005
Jean Pierre Gorvel 2006-2008
Eric Vivier, 2008 - 2017
Philippe Pierre 2018-2023
Marc Dalod 2024-2025
Pierre Milpied 2025-
Advances in immunology made through discoveries at the CIML
Early work at CIML was centered on T cells. The study of their antigen receptors lead to the discovery of chromosomal inversion during the formation of the T cell receptor (TCR). Researchers at the CIML also published the first nucleotide sequence of a gene encoding a human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene and described how the TCR recognizes its MHC ligand.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy” as open-knowledge reference entry. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as open-knowledge reference entry. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5062335. The first chronological checks are 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1980.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy primary sources, Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy archive and Centre research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.