News / 31 October 2017

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I am Swiss and French, but I mostly grew up in the French part of Switzerland where I did my all of my studies. After my PhD and a short postdoc in Switzerland (EPFL), I moved to Japan where I focussed on how the immune system controls tissue healing. I joined EMBL Australia in mid-2016.

What are your scientific interests?
Ultimately, I want to create new therapeutics for regenerative medicine and make regenerative medicine a wide-spread clinical reality.

What has been a highlight of your research career to date?
Discovering that the immune system is indeed a critical actor in the tissue repair and regeneration processes.

Which unresolved question would you most like to answer?
Why can’t humans, as mammals, regenerate most of their tissues?
What are the best ways to reprogram our body towards real tissue regeneration, as opposed to scarring and tissue repair?

Name one tool you can’t do without. 
Genetic and injury animal models, in particular, the mouse.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Focus on what really matters and try to find simple solutions to complicated problems. It is particularly important in the field of regenerative medicine.

Read more about Mikaël’s work.

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