Maïwen Caudron (France)
| Hello,
my name is Maïwen. I'm a 29 years old scientist, married with an architect and mother of a really sweet 1,5 years old daughter. |
 |
I am currently working in the group of Karsten Rippe at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany. I am looking at the structure and organisation of the chromosomes in various kinds of cells. I would like to identify differences between stem cells (cells which can give rise to any kind of specialised cells like skin cells, muscle cells or brain cells) and differentiated cells (cells having a specialised function: skin cells, muscle cells). In the stem cell family, the "tumor stem cells" are believed to be responsible for the difficulties in healing cancer because a single tumor stem cell surviving a treatment could be enough to generate a new tumor. I think there is a possibility to change the nature of these cells and transform them into simple tumor cells, more sensitive to cancer treatment and unable to generate new tumors. This is my motivation to pursue my research work, as it could be one good strategy to win the hard battle against cancer.
Before all that, I went to school in Palaiseau, a little town close to Paris. I soon noticed I liked mathematics, physics and biology, with variable affinities which depended on the teachers. Fortunately none of them managed to dissuade me, and after a scientific school degree, I went to the university to study mathematics and physics. I kept contact with biology by taking some optional lectures. At that time I wanted to become a teacher in mathematics, like Papa!
One morning, during the year before starting my master degree in physics (mathematics were no more fun), a professor entered unannounced the lecture room to advertise a great new master degree in biology for physicists. It sounded really good, and I decided to continue my studies this way. The next summer, I went for a three-months internship at the DKFZ in Heidelberg, to practically start with biology. This was a good opportunity to refresh my German. I had a lot of fun, at work and also outside since I started to play intensively beach volleyball every evening.
Heidelberg is a beautiful city I fell in love with. The year following my internship in Germany, I had only one thought: to go back there! Therefore, I applied to the PhD programme of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg. Not only is it in Heidelberg, but also it is a very successful institute, rich in its international community. Fortunately, I was selected to do my PhD in the group of Eric Karsenti. I enjoyed that time where I spent hours a day at the microscope observing cell division. Moreover, the atmosphere in the lab was relaxed and friendly. Outside the lab, I continued practicing volleyball.
At the end of my PhD, I had my daughter and after a short maternity leave, I came back to the lab. I must admit that although life is beautiful being at home with my baby, I was missing my fantastic work.