CV & background
My work sits at the interface between soft matter physics and biological systems. I trained as an engineer with a broad scientific background at ESPCI Paris, alongside a Master's degree in the ICFP programme, specialising in Soft Matter and Biological Physics. That is where the conviction took hold that physical concepts can genuinely explain how living tissues behave and organise themselves.
I then completed a PhD in biophysics at the Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université Paris Cité, supervised by Sylvie Hénon, on the relevance and the limits of surface and line tensions in accounting for the shapes of epithelial cells. Earlier, during my Master's, a research placement in Manu Prakash's lab at Stanford introduced me to topological defects in active bacterial colonies (my first encounter with living matter treated as a liquid crystal).
After the PhD I chose to test my physics against applied industrial research, joining Saint-Gobain Recherche Paris as an R&D engineer. Over three and a half years I developed physical processes for industrial manufacturing, which led to three international patents. That period taught me something an academic track rarely does: how to make an experiment robust enough that a full industrial process can depend on it. I returned to fundamental research in 2024 at the Laboratoire Jean Perrin, working on the microrheometry of the extracellular matrix during embryogenesis.
Career
Postdoctoral researcher
Laboratoire Jean Perrin, Sorbonne Université — Paris
Microrheometry of the extracellular matrix during embryogenesis using ferrofluid droplets, with Léa-Laetitia Pontani.
R&D research engineer
Saint-Gobain Recherche Paris — Aubervilliers
Physics of industrial processes. Three international patents filed.
PhD, then bridging postdoctoral contract
Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université Paris Cité — Paris
PhD defended in 2019, supervised by Sylvie Hénon; bridging contract until June 2020.
Research placement, Prakash Lab
Stanford University — California, USA
Topological defects in bacterial colonies: observation and theoretical study of defect mechanics.
Engineering degree, ESPCI Paris & MSc ICFP
ESPCI Paris - PSL / Sorbonne Université — Paris
Major in physics. Research placements at the University of Edinburgh (2013) and CEA Valduc (2014).
Funding
- 2026: €20,000. Interlaboratory project grant, IBPS, for 2026–2027.
- 2019. Six-month bridging postdoctoral contract, Labex Who Am I?, following a competitive application process.
- 2016. Three-year doctoral funding, awarded by competitive examination of the EDPIF doctoral school.
Awards
- 2019: La preuve par l'image, CNRS. Exhibited at the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie, Paris.
- 2019: Beautiful Science, French Physical Society.
- 2015: Nikon Small World in Motion, honourable mention. For footage of Oscillatoria princeps cyanobacteria, with the Prakash Lab at Stanford.
- 2011: International Physics Olympiad, selected among the ten national finalists.
Service to the community
- Peer review. Reviewer for iScience (Cell Press).
- Event organisation. Co-organiser of the symposium Dynamics of Extra-Cellular Matrix: Insights Into Force Transmission and Microenvironment Regulation (2024), a one-day meeting with international speakers.
- Hands-on workshop. Designed and ran an experimental workshop on force-sensing droplets in gels for the 2nd meeting of the France-BioImaging Mechanobiology Working Group (2026).
Outreach
- Wikipedia. Wrote the initial French Wikipedia article on MDCK cells.
- Astronomy club, ESPCI Paris (2013–2014). President; organised a public lecture series with international guests, including Michel Mayor, Athena Coustenis and Laura Parker.
Beyond physics: backgammon
Outside the lab I play competitive backgammon at a high level. I am an active member of the national and international circuits, was selected for the French national team, and represented France at the World Team Championship in London in August 2026. I currently hold the Master M2 title awarded by the BMAB (Backgammon Masters Awarding Body).
It is not unrelated to the scientific endeavour. Backgammon is a game of decision-making under uncertainty, where the right move and the winning move are often different (a discipline that has done more for my relationship with experimental error bars than any statistics course).
