Institut Pasteur du Cambodge

The Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC) is a Cambodian non-profit research institution. In 1992, the IPC was re-opened based on an agreement with the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) and the Institut Pasteur (IP, Paris, France) that was renewed in 2013. The IPC operates under the senior patronage of the Cambodian Ministry of Health (MoH), on behalf of which, it carries out life sciences and health research as well as public services and training activities. 

The IPC plays a major role in life sciences and health research against emerging infectious diseases (human/animal) in cooperation with national and international partners. The IPC is a member of the Institut Pasteur International Network (IPIN, 32 institutions). In addition, following the 1992 agreement with the RGC and IP (Paris), together with HE Prof. MAM Bunheng, Cambodian Minister of Health, Prof. Stewart COLE, General Director of the Institut Pasteur (Paris) is the co-chair of IPC annual administrative board. As of January 2021, the IPC Directorate is composed of an Executive Director, Dr. Laurence BARIL (International Technical Expert from the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs), a Deputy Director, Dr. LY Sowath (MoH and IPC senior researcher), and a Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Christophe MOUSSET (IP, Paris).

The IPC is composed of several entities: an administrative and financial department (including lab maintenance and metrology), several public services (Medical Biology Laboratory (LBM), Laboratory for Environment and Food Safety (LEFS), International Vaccination Center, three rabies prevention centers (Phnom Penh, Kampong Cham and Battambang)), five research units (Immunology, Entomology, Virology, Malaria, and Epidemiology/Public Health) and four research groups (AMR/TB, Clinical Research, One Health and Geohealth) and a Metrology shared service. The IPC hosts permanent local researchers (n = 8) and 9 international researchers seconded from Institut Pasteur (Paris, n = 6), French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD, n = 2) and French Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD, n= 1). In addition, several senior researchers and post-doctorates are working on specific projects. As of December 2020, 32 scientists are present on the campus for a total staff of around 290 people (14 nationalities).  The IPC benefits from the support of several international cooperation and development partners to ensure its missions. 

The IPC is also involved in post-graduate-level training. Each year, the IPC hosts around 100 students in the areas of biomedical sciences and engineering, as well as master and doctoral students in life sciences from different universities based in Cambodia and in other countries. The IPC is also a first line partner of the International Masters for Infectiology from the University of Health Sciences (UHS, Phnom Penh) and University Paris-Saclay (France).

The IPC’s laboratories are among the most efficient in Cambodia and Southeast Asia (SEA) for the diagnosis and study of pathogen transmission, analyses of biological and genetic markers for severity or antimicrobial resistance (AMR), human/animal infectious disease prevention and clinical research.