After a scholarship on animal genetic at the AgroParisTech School (Paris), I specialized in molecular biology through a thesis directed by Dr J-C Mercier at INRA on mammary gland biology (1984-1986). Then I went to Edinburgh (Scotland) for a Ph.D under the supervision of Dr AJ Clark at IAPGR (now Roslin Institute) that allowed me to discover mouse transgenesis applied to mammary gland studies. I came back to INRA, in the Animal Genetic department and the LGBC laboratory, and started as a junior scientist (1987) to develop similar studies in France. During the mad cow crisis, I was asked to shift from mammary gland biology to prion diseases and started a collaboration with Drs H Laude and V Béringue (INRAE) that is still ongoing on this topic. Later on, as a senior scientist at the GABI laboratory of INRAE, besides prion studies, we started to tackle other genetic diseases affecting early embryonic or tissue development often identified in farm animals, such as bovine or goat, with the help of Drs D. Boichard, E. Pailhoux (INRAE) and D. Vaiman (INSERM). It includes gonadic development and neuropathies. All these studies involve the development of mouse models through transgenesis and genome editing (GE). To be a Member of the “Transgenic Research” editorial board and of the scientific committee of the French “Haut Conseil aux Biotechnologies”, my scientific activity performed within and with the MoDiT team of GABI (INRAE), led me to participate in RUMIGEN and to get the lead of WP5 that deals with GE.
