​The research conducted at the CEA's Life Sciences Division (DSV) concerns the great societal challenges of health and energy. These objectives are widely shared with other higher education and French research institutions. Academic partnerships with these institutions are a major component of the DSV's research policy.

The diversity of its research teams is an asset to the DSV: the complementarity of scientific, technological and technical specificities and their pooling within the DSV benefit its research.

The DSV comprises 21 joint research units (UMR), or nearly half of the CEA's UMR. Out of the DSV's 1,700 personnel, researchers, engineers and technicians, nearly 35% are colleagues from other public research institutions: the CNRS, Inserm, INRA, INRIA and also universities.

The regular renewal of framework agreements between the CEA and public agencies is strategic to the DSV, by confirming the dynamic that the DSV gives to its academic partnerships. This policy is implemented through the concrete development of ambitious scientific projects, thanks to the site policy jointly conducted with public partners in higher education and research.