Antoine ADENIS

French Guiana is a developing European territory that faces a number of challenges. One of these challenges is to improve the health of the population by developing research into public health and tropical medicine.

After a detailed review of his credentials and work, the candidate considers five relevant achievements that have marked his progress in the field of health research. Two original publications on the subject of histoplasmosis and HIV co-infection, both placed in perspective with tuberculosis and HIV co-infection, respectively report clues for differential diagnosis and estimates of major interest for public health decision-making. An original publication on the subject of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection reports a high level of prevalence in the communes of the Maroni and Oyapock rivers and justifies the use of nonavalent vaccination in French Guyana. The candidate then used the example of histoplasmosis and HIV co-infection to highlight the opportunities available to French Guyana for the development of cooperation in healthcare on a regional and then international scale, thanks to the expertise available locally. Lastly, the candidate describes his achievements in terms of structuring the research activity and making Cayenne hospital a university hospital.

The final section looks at the prospects for research, teaching and supervision, and the management and development of a research network.

Key words : French Guiana; Amazonia; Public health; Tropical medicine; HIV; HPV; Histoplasmosis; Cooperation; Network

French Guiana is a developing European territory that faces many challenges. Among them, the objective of improving the populations' health through the development of the research activity in public health and tropical medicine is one of them. After a detailed review of his titles and work, the candidate considers five relevant achievements that have marked his progress in the field of health research. Two original publications on the topic of histoplasmosis and HIV coinfection, both presented in perspective with tuberculosis and HIV coinfection, report clues for the differential diagnosis and estimates of major interest for public health decision respectively. An original publication on the topic of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection reports a high level of prevalence in isolated rural settings along the Maroni and Oyapock rivers and justifies the use of nonavalent vaccination in French Guiana. Then the candidate takes the example of the histoplasmosis and HIV coinfection to highlight the opportunities offered to French Guiana for the development of regional and international health cooperation thanks to locally available expertise. And finally, the candidate shares his achievements in the aim of capacity building in research and moving the Cayenne General Hospital to an academic one. The perspectives of research, teaching and supervision, animation and development of a research network are explained in a last part.

Keywords: French Guiana; Amazonia; Public Health; Tropical Medicine; HIV; HPV; Histoplasmosis; Cooperation; Network