Sarah Colombani, FRM Award Winner: “This recognition will stay with me throughout my career”

Winning an award when you're just starting your dissertation is a bit surprising. What does this Jeanne Philippe Beziat Award recognize?

It's true, I started my first year of my dissertation just two weeks ago. The Jeanne Philippe Beziat Prize recognizes young doctoral students working in the field of cardiology. The FRM jury evaluated both the student's application and the dissertation proposal itself.

That's a great start—what does it mean to you in terms of recognition and opportunities?

First of all, when you’re just starting out, it puts a little pressure on you—you have to aim high. Not everyone wins a cardiology award, and being recognized by the Foundation for Medical Research is extraordinary. I think this recognition will stay with me throughout my career. Secondly, for the lab, it raises our profile. It’s a great opportunity.

You received your award during a grand ceremony in Paris. What was that experience like for you?  

I’d never had to speak in front of so many people before, so yes, it was really stressful! Fortunately, the ceremony was designed to make us feel honored. We were among leading researchers who had received research awards and scientific prizes. There were some prominent figures in attendance, including the Minister of Higher Education and Marina Carrère D’Encausse, who actually presented me with the award.

Research can't be done without money—does winning a prize provide real financial support?

Of course! The prize is worth 102,600 euros, which is quite substantial. I suppose it will help fund my project and pay my living expenses while I’m working on my dissertation. It’s a real boon for the lab.

Speaking of your project, could you tell us a little bit about it?

Drs. Alain Lacampagne and Albano Meli, my thesis advisors, recently discovered that a mutation in a channel—which allows calcium to enter the heart and thus enables the heart to contract—involved in a heart condition called CPVT (catecholamine-induced polymorphic ventricular tachycardia) was also associated with neurological disorders such as epilepsy. In other words, for the first time, they have shown that this mutation could, at an earlier stage, have an effect on neurons.

So you're going to continue this work?

My thesis focuses on a patient who has CPVT and also has autism spectrum disorder. In this specific case, we want to determine whether the neurons are mutated, and if so, whether they affect the heart—and vice versa. This research is made possible by a relatively new and innovative system: microfluidic chips.  The ultimate goal is to study the interaction between neurons and the heart in the context of neurocardiological disease, and to determine exactly which treatment is effective at both levels.

You started your dissertation at age 24—that’s quite an achievement. When did you first realize you wanted to pursue research in cardiology?

In^{my third} year of my bachelor’s degree in animal physiology and neuroscience, I took courses in cardiology that really fascinated me. To explore this further, I enrolled in a master’s program in experimental and regenerative medicine under Professor Jean-Yves LeGuennec, where I discovered innovative therapies and stem cell research. It’s truly incredible! When Dr. Albano Meli suggested this topic to me—which combined cardiology, stem cells, and innovative therapies—I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do.

Did you complete all of your studies at the University of Montpellier?

Yes, I studied in Montpellier, but I was born and raised in Morocco. I arrived here after earning my high school diploma at Lycée Descartes in Rabat in 2013.  I started out in medicine because many people around me and in my family work in the medical field, but as the year went on, I realized that basic science was a better fit for me. So I transferred to the Faculty of Sciences, and that was that! My academic path just fell into place naturally.

And how do you see your future?

I’ve just started my dissertation, so I’m not going to rush things, but I know that after that, I’ll definitely do a postdoc. I’d like to go to a lab in the United States that’s working on stem cells and heart disease using innovative therapies so I can refine my experimental techniques. I hope to return with that expertise to do a second postdoc in France and, of course, take the competitive exams and become a researcher here.