Team and governance
The MEDES team
MEDES is animated by a multidisciplinary team that is committed to the success of its missions. This team of about 45 people is made up of doctors, physiologists, engineers, computer scientists, administrative and financial staff…
Since July 1st, 2026, it has been headed by Mr. Frederic Hammel.
The MEDES team is spread over several sites.
MEDES employees are involved in the following areas :
Support for space missions
Clinical research
Space applications and innovations
The direction of MEDES
In 30 years MEDES will have known 4 directions :
1989 – 1997
René Bost
1997 – 2016
Laurant Braak
2016 – 2020
Philippe Hazane
2020 – 2026
Audrey Berthier
Since July 2026
Frederic Hammel
Audrey Berthier
Executive Director of MEDES
During the MEDES Board of Directors meeting in June 2026, Mr. Frederic Hammel was appointed Executive Director of MEDES by all members of the GIE.
He succeeds Audrey Berthier, who led the GIE for the previous six years, following Philippe Hazane and Laurent Braak before her. He took office on July 1, 2026
A biologist by training with over 30 years of entrepreneurial experience in the healthcare sector – ranging from biotechnology and medical devices to analytical methods -, Frederic Hammel brings his key expertise to MEDES to support ambitious innovation and strategic development projects in healthcare.
His dual scientific and managerial background will be a major asset in steering the Institute’s future projects, whether in space medicine, clinical research, or technological developments at the crossroads of health and space.
The MEDES Members’ Assembly
The GIE is chaired by the Director of the Toulouse University Hospital and is managed by M. Frederic Hammel, Executive Director.
For more than 20 years, MEDES has benefited from the support of its members, the main ones being the CNES and the Toulouse University Hospital, but also several universities, the Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, the Universities of Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Saint-Etienne, Tours and the Angers University Hospital, with whom it has carried out numerous research and application projects.
