Founded in 1964, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) is a public scientific and technological institute which operates under the joint authority of the French Ministry of Health and French Ministry of Research. As the only French public research institute to focus entirely on human health, in 2008 Inserm took on the responsibility for the strategic, scientific and operational coordination of biomedical research. In early 2008, 9 thematic institutes were created in the light of this new coordination role. The Public Health thematic remit encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that contribute to clinical research and public health (epidemiology, biostatistics, economy and sociology applied in the health field, environmental toxicology, clinical research methodology).

The French Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) is a public research institute specialized in population studies that works in partnership with the academic and research communities at national and international levels. INED was founded in 1945. It is under joint administrative supervision of the ministries of research and social affairs. The Institute’s missions are to study the populations of France and other countries, to ensure wide dissemination of the knowledge thereby acquired, and to provide training in research through research.

In 2010 INED and Inserm have created a joint unit to run the first French national birth cohort Elfe.