I am fascinated by the ability of plants to adapt extremely rapidly to environmental fluctuations. Since my first steps in research, I have studied the physiological and molecular responses of plants to nutritional signals such as sugars and nitrogen compounds.  Today my collaborative projects within my team and at the international level aim at understanding the molecular mechanisms of the plant response to nitrogen availability at the cellular level and its integration at the whole plant level in a changing environment. These projects are detailed on the page of my team “Nitrogen Use, Transport and Signaling” .  

My academic journey
After studying biochemistry at the University of Bayreuth (Germany) and an Erasmus year in Paris, I did my thesis under the supervision of Mark Stitt (University of Bayreuth), then I had the opportunity to benefit from two post-doc experiences, first at INRA Versailles under the supervision of Michel Caboche, Françoise Daniel-Vedele and Christian Meyer (INRA, 1994-1996) and then at the University of Heidelberg again under the supervision of Mark Stitt. In 2000 I had the opportunity to return to INRA Versailles as an advanced researcher (CR1) integrating the research team led by Françoise Daniel-Vedele.  I became head of the team in 2013 after having been promoted to INRAE research director (DR) in 2008.  In 2016 I first became Deputy Director of the IJPB and then had the honor to act as the Head of the IJPB unit from 2017 to 2021. I am handling editor of the Journal of Experimental Botany and participate in various bodies of our institute INRAE.