New at ETH Zurich: Constance Ciaudo
Constance Ciaudo, French native and Professor at the Department of Biology since April 2013, explains how she found her way to science and what fascinates her in her field.
If you were not a scientist, what then?
My dream was to become a ballet dancer. Unfortunately, I broke my ankle at the age of 10 and this ended the dream pretty early. I discovered that science, and more specifically biology, was an exciting world with a lot of open questions.
What big discovery would you like to make in your research field?
My ultimate goal is to figure out how and what is driving human evolution. My research group works on small non-coding RNAs and how they regulate the jumping of transposable elements, which are mobile elements in our genomes. It has long been thought that these parts in the genome do not affect the genetic information, but these elements can jump to different locations in the human genome, thereby starting different processes: activation or disruption of coding genes. That can lead to people getting new diseases, as well as to changes of a flower’s petal colour, or the colour of a fly’s eyes or mice’s fur. I am fascinated by these mechanisms. If one day I could fully understand them, that would be great.
How do you keep a work-life balance?
I love to go rollerblading. In France, I even founded a youth association with the goal to inspire children and young people to exercise through rollerblading. That was a lot of fun. At the moment, unfortunately, I do not often have the time for a sporty balance. But I also really enjoy going to the Opera and cooking.
About the interviewee
Constance Ciaudo has been an Assistant Professor of RNAi and Genome Integrity at the Institute of Molecular Health Sciences in the Department of Biology since April 2013. She was born in France in 1979. Her research focuses on RNA interference (RNAi) and its role as a guardian in genome integrity.