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ZEvent 2026: Institut Pasteur on Twitch for microbiome research

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From September 4th to 6th, 2026, Institut Pasteur is participating in ZEvent, the charity streaming marathon broadcast live across more than 300 Twitch channels. This year, a portion of the donations collected will go to Institut Pasteur and will be dedicated to a major microbiome research program (IM2P). A scientist from Institut Pasteur and the director of philanthropy will be on-site to embody this connection between two worlds: the laboratory and the streaming scene.
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Deux mondes, une cause - save the date du 2 au 6 septembre à Montpellier ou sur Twitch

ZEvent has become one of the most mobilizing charity events in the French-speaking Twitch community. The donations raised for Institut Pasteur during the 2019 edition, totaling more than 3.5 million euros, helped support research on emerging infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and brain diseases. These investments proved invaluable just a few months later, when research teams were mobilized in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2026, this momentum is renewed around a new scientific challenge: the microbiome.

What is the microbiome?

The microbiome refers to all the bacteria, viruses, and fungi that inhabit our body, in the intestines, on the skin, in the lungs, or also in the mouth. These billions of microorganisms are not passive: they play an active role in the functioning of the immune system and are involved in numerous diseases, ranging from cancers to chronic inflammatory diseases, as well as depression and neurodegenerative diseases.

Better understanding the relationships between our diet, the microorganisms that inhabit our bodies, and our immune system opens up concrete pathways toward more preventive and more personalized medicine.

What will the donations collected during ZEvent 2026 be used for?

All funds raised during ZEvent 2026 will be dedicated to the IM2P program (Integrative Microbiome Program at Pasteur). This cross-disciplinary program brings together nearly 40 research teams, uniting microbiologists, immunologists, clinicians, biologists, and bioinformaticians, around a shared goal: understanding how microbiomes influence our health throughout life.

The donations will help to: 

  • Support innovative interdisciplinary projects;
  • Develop new technologies for microbiome analysis;
  • Foster data sharing between teams;
  • Accelerate the transfer of discoveries into medical applications.

To carry this message on the ZEvent scene, Institut Pasteur will be represented by two people with complementary profiles:

  • Cécile Apert, former researcher specializing in interactions between the microbiome and the immune system at Institut Pasteur
  • Antoine Bogaerts, Director of Philanthropy at Institut Pasteur

A scientist and a gamer: meet Cécile Apert

Cécile Apert is a scientist by training. For four years, she worked in the Microenvironment and Immunity laboratory at Institut Pasteur, studying the microbiome during early stages of life to better understand its role and effects on vaccine effectiveness in adulthood.
Today, she supports the Institute's scientists in developing their professional projects, aiming to foster their autonomy.

Outside the laboratory, Cécile has another passion: gaming. It is this double life that she will bring to  ZEvent , from September 4th to 6th in Montpellier, alongside France's biggest streamers.

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Join us September 3–6, 2026, at the Sud de France Arena in Montpellier and on the streamers’ Twitch channels to follow and support the organizations, and also on the Institut Pasteur’s Instagram for real-time behind-the-scenes updates.