Luxury Indian Ocean LUXURY MAURITIUS #6 EDITION 2018 | Page 112

L'institut de recherche Simplissima, basé à Port-Louis
The Simplissima research institute in Port Louis
© Anaïs Dercy
world's cultural heritage. But since their underlying processes have
long been forgotten, they are slowly disappearing. Can honey really
relieve a sore throat? Does the Rodriguan lime have unique healing
properties? What are the real benefi ts of moringa leaves (also known
as brede mouroum)? Men are wise enough to observe some of the
health benefi ts brought by natural elements, but unless we learn
their mechanisms of action, such knowledge is bound to disappear.
As part of its multicultural heritage, Mauritius boasts a rich ethno-
medical knowledge base with a variety of traditional remedies. Th e
purpose of Simplissima is to draw upon such knowledge to bring
simple, sustainable, ethical and low-cost health solutions to people
in Mauritius and across the world.
Where does Mauritius stand on the eco-responsible development
scale?
I think this is one of the country's remaining challenges: the
successful integration of the blue and green economy. In that respect,
the institutionalisation of the EDB is a tremendous opportunity to
bring changes. It should have a positive impact to bring together all
the institutions towards a common development strategy. It is in
everybody's interest to respect the environment.
How do you intend to gather such knowledge and carry out your
research?
In the gardens of the institute, we have a small coff ee bar, which I
have named JoMo (Ed., JoMo for "Joy of Missing out" as opposed
to FoMo, the Fear of Missing out). It will be a meeting spot for
small presentations and forums. On the other side of the house,
we have our modern lab, opening to a green garden, in which we
study how plants work. Th e idea is to give the Mauritian science
elite a reason to cooperate and better serve their country in a setting
that both ensures intellectual stimulation and meets international
standards in terms of innovation and research. You are a director of the EDB Board. How is your scientifi c
background an asset for this institution?
Th rough my scientifi c training, I have acquired the ability to
address very complex issues without fear. It has provided me with
a toolkit to approach such complexity in a rigorous way. I would
thus like to implement follow-up structures to measure the eff ects
of our actions and correct whatever is needed when the results are
below expectations. Having received the American Eisenhower
Fellow award in 2013, I now have this holistic, integrative vision
that is necessary to understand the economy of an island nation
such as yours. I have been introduced to everything relating to
new technologies and artifi cial intelligence. Two American giants,
Monsanto and Google, also had me as their guest. I had the
opportunity to grasp many things ahead of the rest of the world by
simply being there when it comes fresh out of the oven.
You give much importance to nature. It seems to be the heart of your
research today. What place do you believe nature should hold in the
development of a country?
I am going to quote Jim Rohn to explain my point of view. He said:
"Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live". And I would
add to that: "Take care of your country, it’s the only place you have to
live"... especially if it is an island! Let me remind you of one diff erence
between men and other animals: we are the only animals to be able to
identify our grand-parents. No other animal has ever been seen showing
recognition or a special connection to its grand parents. Th is means that,
by acknowledging that they have a grandfather or a grandmother, human
beings learn from a very young age that they are links in a chain. Th ey
hold their responsibility towards the animal and plant world from the fact
that they are the only creatures to understand this. Tell us more about your work. What are your most signifi cant
discoveries? Are you working on other research projects?
My latest discovery is about small molecules, which allow us to
envisage a new type of communication within the human cell,
more specifi cally between our cells' “hard drive” (the Nucleus) and
“power stations” (the Mitochondria). Once we get involved in the
communication of the cell's energy fl ow, we are going deeper in our
body's decision centre, since it is in the mitochondria that important
decisions such as energy production, metabolism activation and
cell death programming are taken. Such a discovery has opened
new research avenues for many health conditions like cancer, for
example. Another fi eld of research I am working on is the origins
of life - more precisely, the sequences that could help, in theory, to
model the origin of life on Earth.
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