2021 SFBD board renewal
At the end of every year, an electronic vote is organized to partially renew or extend the SFBD Board of directors. This year, five positions are open for election to the SFBD Board. Here are the eight candidates and their mission statements. All members of the Society will receive a link to vote (via the Pollen tool). Voting period will be December 1st-15th 2020.
Allison BARDIN, DR2 CNRS, Institut Curie (Paris), Candidate for a first term
My research group at the Institut Curie in Paris investigates stem cell self-renewal and lineage different- iation using Drosophila adult intestinal stem cells as a model system. In particular, we use genetic and genomic approaches to understand the role that chromatin changes play in lineage differen- tiation and how somatic genome alteration can impact this process. Our work has implications for understanding how stem cell and tissue changes can drive cancer initiation and how aging impacts stem cell behavior.
I have admired the contributions that the SFBD has made over the years towards stimulating basic science in France. I would be happy to be able to contribute to further building and shaping the SFBD. In particular, I hope to foster interactions between stem cell biologists and other developmental biologists within France. Indeed, with a similar goal in mind, during the past 5 years, I have established and directed a stem cell working group within the CNRS composed of about 40 French teams (Groupement de Recherche #3740). Within this group, we have promoted interaction between teams working on diverse model systems from nematostella to Drosophila and zebrafish to mouse and human model systems. I hope to be able to encourage these interactions at the level of the SFBD. I would also like to stimulate further the relations between the SFBD and international stem cell and developmental biology societies. Finally, another area that I would like to help develop is school outreach programs. In conjunction with the Fondation Schlumberger, I participate in outreach at the Lycée level as part of the Déclics program. I think that sharing the wonders of developmental biology with students at the primaire, college and lycée levels would be an important future goal and a provide a fantastic experience for young minds.
I am therefore pleased to submit my candidature as a member of the board of the SFBD.
Claire Chazaud, DR2 INSERM, GReD (Clermont-Ferrand), Candidate for a first term
I did my PhD at the IGBMC (Strasbourg) under the direction of P. Chambon and P. Dollé. I then went for a post-doctoral training period in Janet Rossant’s laboratory (Toronto, Canada) where I initiated my current research theme. Thanks to a contract AVENIR (ex-ATIP/AVENIR) from INSERM, I created a team in 2003 in Clermont-Fd. We are working on the molecular mechanisms of differentiation/acquisition of cell identity during pre-implantation in mice. We mainly use mouse embryos and occasionally ES embryonic stem cells. Our experiments include in situ analyses (IF, FISH), electroporations and embryo cultures, single cell transcriptomics and use mutant or reporter transgenic lines. In collaboration we have developed a mathematical model which we are developing.
As a developmental biologist, I was a member of Section 22 of the CoNRS (2012-2016), as well as a member of the Scientific Council of the FRM (2016-2020). I am currently on the board of Aurastem, the stem cell association in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. I am a member of GDR Stem Cells and the FSSCR (French society for stem cell research).
I would like to get involved in the life of the Society because it is essential for our discipline (conferences, grants … and more!) and it has brought me a lot (knowledge of the French development biology landscape, collaborations, visibility).
Yoan Coudert, CR CNRS, RDP (Lyon), Candidate for a first term
#Science My research is aimed at understanding the molecular mechanisms that determine the shape of plants during development, and in particular the position of the branches, which is a key element of their architecture. For the plants we consume, shape determines their ability to intercept light and produce flowers and fruit. I am also trying to establish the genetic changes that have allowed these forms to change during evolution and create the diversity we see on the planet today.
#Background I first did my PhD on the architecture of the root system of a plant of agronomic interest, rice, between 2007 and 2010 at the University of Montpellier. Passionate about evolutionary development (evo-devo), I continued my research at the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol in England as a post-doctoral researcher between 2011 and 2016. I worked with a moss as a model organism, a plant that has retained some of the characteristics of the first land plants that appeared almost 500 million years ago. I was awarded an ATIP-Avenir grant to set up my team, and following my recruitment to the CNRS as a Chargé de Recherches (junior staff scientist) in 2016, I chose to continue my research with mosses for their evolutionary interest and the many advantages they provide for working in the laboratory. My objective is now to compare the developmental strategies of different species, and try to explain the molecular differences that give them distinctive branched forms.
#Motivation In view of my background and scientific interests (broader than my research theme), my main motivation for joining the SFBD Board of Directors is simple: to increase the visibility of the plant biology community and promote interactions with development biologists using non-plant models.
Delphine Duprez, DR1 CNRS, Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine, Candidate for re-election
For more than 20 years I have been working on the development of the musculoskeletal system using different animal models, mainly the avian model. I am interested in the cellular and molecular interactions between muscle, tendon and connective tissue in a developmental context. I also try to reconstitute the developmental steps from stem cells with the engineering of in vitro organs (tendon, myotendinous junction). My current research projects integrate the mechanical parameters (in addition to the molecular component) involved in the formation and repair of tendons.
I am part of the ITMO Cell Biology, Development and Evolution. I was elected as a member of the Inserm “commission” (Fundamental mechanisms of living organisms) on the program of the SFBD (mandate 2017-2021). I tried to regroup the French scientific community working with the avian model in biology of development with the GDR 3604 “avian model” (2014-2017).
For the past 3 years, I have been on the SFBD Board as Vice-Chair and responsible for awards of travel grants. I also learned the operation of the SFBD. I see my renewal in the SFBD Board with the continuation of actions carried out to bring together the community (Thesis prizes, travel grants, support for events, organization of meetings and actions aimed at the general public). In the context of the pandemic, whose effects will be felt for sometimes, one challenge will be to adapt the outline of these actions. I propose to continue to defend the interests of Developmental Biology, with a particular focus on ensuring reliable funding streams for our discipline, with the aim to reposition Developmental Biology at the forefront of national and international scene. These objectives fit perfectly into the framework of the “Fédération des Sociétés Savantes », whose creation is being driven by the President of the SFBD, Patrick Lemaire.
Mathieu Gineste, PRAG, Aix-Marseille Université, Candidate for a first term
Dear fellow developmentalists,
I hereby wish to submit my candidacy to become a member of the SFBD Board of Directors.After completing a PhD thesis on the identification of active regulatory sequences during the development of ascidians in Patrick Lemaire’s team, and being a holder of the Agrégation en Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre (life and earth sciences), I returned to my teaching position at the Aix-Marseille academy. After having taught mainly in high school, I have been working as a PRAG in Aix-Marseille University since the start of the 2020 academic year, where I am involved in the training of future secondary and higher education teachers through preparation for the SVT Agrégation. I also remain involved in secondary education as an academic trainer, as well as an academic referent for the Biology Olympiads, a demanding competition aimed at high school students wishing to pursue high-level higher education in Life Sciences.
My candidacy is motivated by the desire to remedy the low representation of developmental biology in secondary school curricula, and high school in particular. The recent reform of the baccalaureate is also accompanied by a revision of the curricula, including that of the life and earth sciences. Developmental biology has often been virtually absent from secondary school curricula. It now becomes even more than virtually absent. For example, the terms ‘embryo’ or ‘embryonic’ appear twice in the life and earth sciences curricula throughout secondary school, once to exclude it from study :
– in “Seconde” (15-16 year olds), in the part ” Human body : from fertilization to puberty ” : Precisions : the embryonic and foetal development of the genital organs is not studied. […] The study of genetic or developmental abnormalities is not dealt with exhaustively.
– In the “Reproduction of the plant between fixed life and mobility” section of the “Terminale” (17-18 year olds) : The seed contains the embryo of a future plant which it protects (resistant envelope) and nourishes at germination using previously accumulated reserve molecules.
This situation is naturally regrettable. It is all the more regrettable because the content of life and earth science programmes can sometimes be very advanced both in terms of notional expectations and practical expectations in certain over-represented fields, probably under the influence of influential figures from the ESR on the Higher Programme Council. It seems to me that the SFBD has a full role to play in promoting developmental biology in the design of secondary school curricula. It is with this desire in mind that I am submitting my candidacy today, which I hope, despite its noncanonical nature, will be of interest to members.
Maëva Luxey, Associate Researcher, Basel University (Switzerland), Candidate for a first term
Dear members of the French Society for Developmental Biology (SFBD),
Since 2017, I have been an associate researcher in the “Regulatory Evolution” team of Prof. Patrick Tschopp at the University of Basel (Switzerland), where I am interested in the plasticity of the neuromuscular system of tetrapod limbs.
Since the beginning of my scientific career, I have been interested in the molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of functional limbs in tetrapods: first, by studying the role of axonal guidance molecules of motor and sensory neurons in the limbs in mice during my PhD in the team of Dr. Alice Davy (CBD-CBI, Toulouse, France) and then as a post-doc in Canada in the team of Prof. Jacques Drouin (IRCM, Montreal, Canada) where I acquired skills in proteomics and sequencing techniques (NGS) to identify the molecular factors responsible for limb identity. Combining this double expertise, I am now exploring in Pr. Patrick Tschopp’s team (University of Basel, Switzerland), the evolutionary relevance of these concepts by combining advanced imaging technologies (light sheet microscopy and 3D reconstruction) with classical experimental embryology mainly in chicken and mouse.
I have been a member of the SFBD since my PhD, and it is thanks to this support that I have been able to present my work at SFBD or Gordon Conference conferences, in particular through its travel grant funding actions.
I am therefore proposing my candidacy to the SFBD’s board of directors in order to invest myself, in turn, by participating in its actions, in the maintenance and development of opportunities for young researchers (collaboration grants, workshops). In addition, I would like to develop an online teaching platform allowing the exchange of different courses in development biology. Finally, it seems important to me to promote the SFBD abroad by giving it visibility during the annual congresses of Developmental Biology Switzerland (September 2021)/Life Science.
Aude Maugarny-Calès, Post-doctoral Researcher, Institut Curie (Paris), Candidate for re-election
My name is Aude Maugarny-Calès, I am a 30 year-old post-doctoral researcher at the Institut Curie in Paris. After 3 years on the SFBD board, I am applying for a second term.
I did my PhD at the Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (INRA, Versailles) under the supervision of Dr. Patrick Laufs. I worked on the acquisition of leaf shape in the plant model species Arabidopsis thaliana. More specifically I dissected the function of plant-specific transcription factors in the patterning of boundary domains and the promotion of growth. But beyond plant development, I am mainly interested in biological questions centered around morphogenesis. How do molecular actors, cellular processes as well as physical constraints make up a shape? I was looking for a strong thematic shift for my post-doctoral project, thus I decided to join Yohanns Bellaïche group at the end of my PhD in December 2017. Since then I have been studying the temporal regulation of cellular events during Drosophila melanogaster metamorphosis. Knowledge of both plant and animal systems has allowed me to defend both fields during the board discussions.
During my three years on the SFBD board, I have progressively taken a very active role in the Society’s actions. My main achievement has been the complete renewal of our website alongside Dr. Glenda Comai and in collaboration with a commercial web designer. The website contents has been heavily updated and now offers new options such as online subscriptions, online applications for grants and prizes and the possibility for our members to submit news articles and job offers. If you have not had a look yet, please go check it out now and see if you like what we did. I am also managing the SFBD Twitter account @sfbd-biodev. Since I took over this task in early 2019, the number of our Twitter followers has more than doubled (now 1200+ followers) and I have created several communication campaigns that significantly increased the society’s visibility (such as the #ILoveFrenchBiodev campaign). Beyond these actions, I am also the representative of early career researchers on the board and I make sure that the interests and point-of-view of young researchers and research workers on short-term contracts are defended and represented in the board’s discussions.
Should I be reelected, I have two main goals for my second term. The first one is to continue improving our online presence. Glenda and I have detected some modifications that would make the website more user-friendly, we plan to implement them with the help of a web designer. Another project that I have is to implement travel grants dedicated specifically to support parents of young children who want to attend conferences. Those parental travel grants could help cover extra childcare costs or the travel expenses of a second person that would help the parent-scientist with childcare during the meeting. The current pandemic situation has made scientific travel impossible but I am very optimistic that one day on-site international scientific meetings will resume. On that day I hope the SFBD will be able to provide parents with the support they need to resume presenting their work, discussing results, finding positions and developing fruitful collaborations.
I am an enthusiastic, dynamic and curious person for whom research is a passion, I have engaged myself in many actions and I have many future projects for the Society. I hope you will vote for me and allow me to make these projects a reality.
Matteo Rauzi, CR CNRS, Université Côte d’Azur (Nice), Candidate for a first term
Dear SFBD members, I am thrilled to apply for an open position to join the Administration Council. I am PI at the iBV (University Côte d’Azur) heading the team « Morphognesis and mechanics of epithelial tissues ». With a background in engineering, a PhD in cell/developmental biology and biophysics, my scientific career has evolved in 4 different countries (Italy, Spain, France and Germany).
My research focus is studying the mechanisms and mechanics driving epithelial morphogenesis during embryo development at both cellular and animal scale. The projects developed in my lab gather people from different backgrounds (biology, informatics, physics, and engineering) to generate an interdisciplinary and synergistic group in an international environment. Our recent work has been focusing on the fundamental process of epithelial folding. Epithelial folding is a vital process during embryo development. Defects in folding can impair neurulation or gastrulation leading to major birth defects (e.g., spina bifida) or death. In mature tissues, folding is also pathologically relevant: tissues can for instance buckle before cancer invasion. Understanding the cell mechanisms and mechanics of tissue folding is thus of major importance. In the lab we use the Mediterranean sea urchin specie Paracentrotus lividus and the Drosophila melanogaster embryo as model system and focus on the process of tissue folding during gastrulation. Our recent efforts shine new light on the cellular mechanisms, mechanics and gene patterning synergy driving composite morphogenesis (e.g., concomitant folding and extension). The techniques developed and implemented in our lab are at the cross-road between disciplines: genetic mutations, optogenitcs, drug perturbation, infra-red femtosecond ablation coupled to 4D multi-view light sheet microscpy, micro-indentation, micro-pipette aspiration, 4D BIG DATA processing and quantitative analysis.
My participation to the Administration Council would contribute to further accentuate the interdisciplinary and international character of the SFBD.