After my bachelor, I studied biochemistry for 4 years at the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris. My final year of undergraduate study was in Strasbourg on the DNA translesion synthesis mutagenic pathway in E. Coli. After that, I did my PhD at Paris University (1998-2002) under the supervision of Drs. S. Boiteux and JP. Radicella on the implication of oxidative stress DNA repair in kidney carcinogenesis. I understand how crucial a good working environment is and the importance of collaboration. During my PhD, I had the chance to develop different skills notably related to biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology.
After my thesis, I was a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. B. Salles’ research group on DNA Damage and Repair at the University of Toulouse (2002-2005). We discovered a new DNA double strand break repair pathway (MMEJ). During this period, I also grew to understand that fundamental research could be applied to clinical cancer research.
After my postdoc, I successfully applied for a permanent researcher position in TOXALIM unit in Toulouse (2006) at the Institute for Research on agriculture, food, and the environment (INRAe) to work on food contaminants, metabolism and genotoxicity. I have developed a genotoxicity test with the use of human cell lines and a new biomarker of DNA damage (yH2AX). In parallel, I have applied this assay to numerous food contaminant families, alone or in mixture, for chemical risk assessment. I always try to combine fundamental and applicate research.
Since my PhD in 2000, I have published over 50 scientific papers (H index: 30), and participated or led 15 European and National projects. I am a member of the management committee of the French Society of Genetic Toxicology (SFTG) and the French delegate to the EEMGS from 2012. I am also a participant in the HESI GTTC society. I have attended most of the EEMGS meetings since 2010 and participated in three ICEM meetings.
One of the things I most enjoy in my academic and scientific career is to supervise and work with students. I do my best to encourage them and most of the students have a published paper related to their passage in my lab. I am also proud to have co-founded with my former student a start-up (PrediTox) dedicated to genotoxicity testing and collaboration with previous students.
I think the link between academia, companies and regulatory bodies is crucial for the future of genetic toxicology. If I am elected as vice-president of EEMGS, I will do my best to integrate as much as possible across all these pillars in our scientific community.
As vice president of the EEMGS, I would look forward to helping in the running and growing of the society with new initiatives, notably for young investigators. I hope to put into practice these new possibilities at future EEMGS meetings and also for the 2026 ICEM conference in the UK.