1. How did you get into the autophagy field and why is the field important to you?

I came into “autophagy field” by the study of membrane trafficking regulators, especially VPS34 and its lipidic product PI3P. I was indeed previously focused on early endosome membrane dynamics events and it appears that many sorting regulators are required for both pathways. Recent papers clearly show that the boundary between endosomes and pre-autophagosomals (and of course late autophagosomal) structures is in fact really tight.

2. What is a key question in the autophagy field now? Where do you think the field is heading?

It is difficult to evaluate the key question! I would say that… we probably need for an open mind vision of autophagy, and autophagic machinery involvement in “other” cellular processes such as membrane trafficking, signaling and stress response.

3. Should you meet any scientist, currently living or deceased, who would it be and why?

Jacques Monod, the French researcher; he was a scientist (not a medical doctor) and was a truly passionate about basic biology. on top of that, he was a rock climber and a big fan of JS Bach, which are features that I like 😉 !

4. What advice do you have for early career scientists that want to enter the autophagy field?

Don’t be dogmatic about anything; there is place for everything, from new ideas to new concepts!