Profile
Marc Amoyel
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About Me:
I’m French and British and grew up speaking both languages. I live in North London where I go for long walks with my dog, Mouse (who’s very tall and not at all mouse-like).
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My pronouns are:
he/him
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My Work:
I’m interested in understanding how stem cells work. These are cells that have unique abilities to give rise to more of themselves, but also to produce new cells to repair and replenish tissues. We want to know how they “read” the signals they get from their environment to decide what to do.
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Read more
We use the fruit fly, called Drosophila, to study stem cells. This is because fruit flies offer us many tools to control genes with incredible precision – we can decide in which cells we want to change genes and at what time point! With these tools, we can get answers to fundamental questions in biology that would be hard to answer in other animals.
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My Typical Day:
I’m not much of a morning person, so rarely get to work before 10… These days I do fewer experiments myself, but the life of a fruit fly researcher starts with going through your genetic crosses first thing in the morning. We put flies to sleep using pads that diffuse a harmless gas, and use paintbrushes to move flies around under a dissection microscope, so we can choose which ones to study. After that, we’ll spend some time getting images on our high-powered laser microscope, and analyse the results.
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Education:
I did all my schooling in France, at an international school near Paris. We did both French exams and GCSEs, then a French version of the international Baccalaureate.
After school, I moved to London to study Biology at University College London, and went straight on to do a PhD in North London at an institute called the National Institute for Medical Research.
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Qualifications:
GCSEs in English, French, Maths, History + French “Brevet”
International option of the French Baccalaureate
B.Sc in Biology – University College London
PhD in Developmental Neurobiology – University of London/National Institute for Medical Research
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Work History:
After my PhD, I was a postdoctoral researcher for many years, first at Columbia University in New York, then at New York University (also in New York).
After New York, I moved to Bristol, where I started my lab at the University of Bristol, and two years after that I moved to University College London where I am now.
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Current Job:
I’m an associate professor at UCL, in the department of Cell and Developmental Biology. This means that I run a lab, managing a team of undergraduate, PhD students, research assistants and postdoctoral researchers, as well as teach some undergraduate courses.
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Employer:
University College London (UCL)
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My Interview
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What did you want to be after you left school?
I wanted to be a scientist, but I wasn't sure in which field
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Yes, I often sat in the back chatting with friends instead of paying attention in class
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Maybe a diplomat?
What's your favourite food?
Too hard - All of it!
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