As part of the CEA’s high-risk research program “Audace!”, the Enhanced Lungs project, coordinated by the IDMIT Department in collaboration with Marie Lannelongue Hospital, is one of 10 flagship projects funded with a total budget of €40 million—three of which are in the field of Biology and Health—selected from 35 proposals. This bold project aims to increase the success rate of lung transplants by equipping donor lungs ex vivo with enhanced infection-resistance genes before transplantation.

Currently, 35% to 60% of transplant patients experience post-transplant infectious complications. The project’s main challenge is to keep grafts alive outside the body long enough to integrate potentially protective genes via gene therapy. To meet this challenge, the team plans to develop a cutting-edge perfusion platform capable of keeping lungs viable for up to 24 hours ex vivo. The first studies are expected to begin in 2025.​​