I started my scientific career at the French INSERM unit 349 (university Paris6), in Paris, completing a PhD in Biochemistry in the Moukhtar/Jullienne Lab. During this time I studied the mechanisms of osteoclast cell differentiation. These large multinucleate cells are essential for the maintenance, repair, and remodelling of bones of the vertebrate skeleton. I discovered that prostaglandins were important regulators of osteoclast differentiation in humans, and completed my PhD in 1997.  During my PhD, I became interested in using genetics and model organisms to study cells in vivo.  This prompted me to move to the Rockefeller University (NYC), as a post doc in the lab of Claude Desplan, to study the mechanisms of cell fate specification during development.  In the Desplan lab, I used the genetically amenable fly eye to study how different classes of photoreceptors are born and differentiate.  During this time, I became fascinated with cell morphogenesis, and in particular with how cells become polarised to support organ function.  I started my lab at UCL in 2003, at the LMCB, where I decided to study the mechanism of polarised cell and tissue morphogenesis during organogenesis.