RadioIsotopes Laboratory

The RadioIsotopes Laboratory is a research laboratory attached directly to the Presidency of the University of Antananarivo. The laboratory carries out various high-level scientific research activities, training and expertise in two major fields: medicine and agronomy.

For the medicine part, the disciplines we study are essentially biophysics and physiology , our research activities being based on the use of isotopic techniques applicable in nuclear medicine and the use of stable isotopes: in vitro studies of labeled red blood cells in patients with polycythemia, exploration of clearances and compartments, in vitro confirmation of occult gastrointestinal bleeding using isotopic techniques, other isotopic techniques such as hormones (T3 – T4 – TSH, insulin peptide pro-insulin (RIA or IRMA assay ), tumor markers (CA 15-3, thyroglobulin, etc.), in other fields of medicine (nutrition, cardiology, diabetology, etc.) These activities are carried out in partnership with the Faculty of Medicine and other financial partners such as the IAEA.

For the agronomy part, the disciplines studied are essentially soil sciences, environmental sciences, soil biology and ecology, agronomy and forestry . Research activities essentially concern three areas:

• The "soils and climate change" axis: where we study the impacts of different modes of use and agricultural practices on carbon sequestration in the soil and in plant biomass. We study the parameters that control this sequestration at different scales.
• The " nutrient bioavailability" axis: where we study the processes of making soil nutrients available to the plant through the improvement of cultural practices and the use of different soil-root-plant interactions.
• The " soil biology" axis, which is transversal to the two previously mentioned axes, which studies the role of the different soil organisms (soil fauna, microregulators and soil microorganisms) in the availability of nutrients for the plants and in mitigating climate change through their actions on the carbon cycle. We lead this axis in close collaboration with the UMR Eco&sols of the IRD.