François Varray and Olivier Bernard appointed as Junior and Senior Members of the IUF

François Varray, Associate Professor at the CREATIS laboratory and lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Process Engineering at Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, and Olivier Bernard, Full Professor at INSA Lyon, have been awarded chairs under the Fundamental Program of the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF). Starting October 1, 2025, they will be appointed as junior and senior members of the IUF, respectively, for a five-year term.

François Varray's project aims to design the next generation of 3D cardiac ultrasound imaging. It focuses on the reconstruction of 3D blood flow with resolutions tailored to clinical requirements, through innovative beamforming and signal processing techniques. Another research direction explores ultrasonic signal coherence as a quality indicator and quantitative imaging tool. This work combines physical modeling, deep learning, and in vivo acquisitions to develop high-resolution 3D ultrasound imaging.

Olivier Bernard’s project aims to develop novel artificial intelligence (AI) frameworks that incorporate domain-specific medical knowledge to improve interpretability, uncertainty estimation, and explainability in healthcare decision-making. The goal is to enable a faster and safer translation of AI methods into clinical practice to improve patient care. The project will be particularly applied to the etiological diagnosis of cardiac diseases—a major public health priority due to its significant impact.

Established in 1991, the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) aims to promote high-level research in universities and foster interdisciplinarity. Faculty members appointed to the IUF are selected for the excellence of their scientific work, demonstrated by their international recognition.