What is your role in the Circle U. Alliance?
I am a Work Package (WP2) lead in the Research and Innovation ERIA program representing Université Paris Cité. Work Package 2 (WP2) focuses on fostering interdisciplinarity to co-construct solutions with other sectors. This includes the Inter Circle U. Prize for inter- and transdisciplinary research, creating networks for interdisciplinary research projects and the Circle U. “sandboxes”.
Sandboxes are experimental, brainstorming meetings that gather researchers from the Circle U. partners and external stakeholders in order to encourage the emergence of interdisciplinary projects.
I recently participated in my first sandbox and I was thrilled to interact with colleagues from such diverse disciplines and cultural backgrounds at different stages of their careers. I have participated in several other Circle U. activities too, like the Early-Career Researcher (ECR) Forum, the Female Founders Retreat in Paris, and the InnovEd4TS project on innovative teaching and transferable skills.
What do you particularly like about your work at Circle U.?
We send all our Masters students in Genetics and Epigenetics abroad for a long research internship in a foreign laboratory. It is always exciting to watch how this international experience helps them to grow, both as a scientist and as a person. International mobility was such an important part of my life and my academic career.
I look forward to a time when it will be easy for all or students and faculty to regularly spend time learning and teaching in different universities across Europe. Stepping out of your comfort zone is critical to becoming a good student and a good teacher.
What sight in your city would you show a visiting colleague?
Paris is such a wonderful city that you could spend days just wandering around and visiting all the famous sights. I would invite you to come and visit our campus and its neighbourhood. The Grands Moulins campus is in the east of Paris and the central buildings are old flour factories converted into classrooms. It doesn’t feel like Paris at all. Come and visit!
Have you had an Erasmus/exchange experience abroad, as a student or in your profession?
As a student I studied in England and went for a semester abroad to Jerusalem. I was a postdoctoral researcher in Boston and Paris. And as a professor I have had the chance to teach in Milan, Trieste and Rome.
If you had a sabbatical year, what would you do?
I love to travel. I would spend my time visiting labs in different countries and teaching students from different backgrounds. I would also like to explore beyond my own discipline, discovering what philosophers and sociologists can teach us about host-parasite interactions.