Patricia Bassereau tells Michael Brown about the importance of the membrane in cellular functions and her thoughts about the future of women in science             

Patricia Bassereau is a researcher at the Curie Institute in Paris, France.  Her work involves identifying the role of the membrane in cellular functions. She aims to set up biomimetic systems to identify the physical parameters of cells and her long-term goal is to develop a realistic physical model of cell membranes.

 

Who or what inspired you to become a scientist?

I did not have a role model that inspired me to become a scientist in my family. When I was at school I liked the physical sciences, and I was drawn to the intellectual challenges that they had to offer. I love discovering new things and finding out how things work.

Do you think that there are enough women in science?

There are still some challenges to be overcome. In France, the social structure has enabled many women to work in science; however, this may change in the future. I fear that the number of women in science may decrease, as the younger generation may not be enthusiastic about the stress of a highly competitive life coupled with a low salary.  

Your research is on the role of the membrane in cellular functions. What motivated you to work in this area of physical chemistry?

Initially I was working on soft matter, surfactant systems and self-assembly systems. This sometimes involved membranes. I was later working on polymer films. I was interested in cell biology more than 10 years ago. My interest in membranes and cellular functions was increased by two interesting developments in the area. 
Firstly, theoreticians were developing models that changed the way of thinking about membranes. At the same time, cell biologists realised that proteins were actually incorporated into cell membranes as well as inside cells, and that understanding the properties of membranes was key to other cellular functions. These two strands of thinking helped me return to this area with a new perspective.

Why is it necessary to develop model membranes?

Model membranes are interesting from a physicist's point of view as you can have a simple system of parameters and principles, which can easily be compared to theories.

 

What are the main areas of research that you are working on at the moment?

There are different aspects that are interesting in our present work. One question is how proteins can deform membranes. Many proteins involved in cell trafficking deform membranes. To study proteins, you must also study the membrane; the two are very much linked. By studying the deformation of the membrane by different proteins we are able to control the physical parameters that help us understand the mechanism behind the deformation, and the cell processes. At present, we understand that there are two types of proteins, ones that deform the membrane and others that are sensitive to curvature. We hope that by using these model systems and measuring the mechanical properties of the protein assembly, we will be able to further understand this type of mechanism.  
We use a lot of membrane nanotubes. By pulling on the cell membrane you can form a nanotube. The diameter of the nanotube can be controlled, and you can then measure many parameters in a controlled environment. By creating these nanotubes you can probe the membrane tension in the cell. So, in a constituted system you can collect mechanical information on the biomembrane.

What achievement are you most proud of in your research?

The achievement I am most proud of is when we used a simple biomimetic system using molecular motors to pull on the cell membrane. This resulted from a close collaboration with cell biologists and theoretician physicists. Together, we were able to build a system reproducing the formation of the tubular structures that we observe in cells, make quantitative measurements, and understand the mechanism which led to the formation of these tubules.

Collaborations form a large part of modern scientific research. Which scientist, past or present, would you like to work with and why?

I enjoy working with the theoreticians at the Curie Institute, Jacques Prost and Jean-François Joanny, who joined recently. The close collaboration with these colleagues has been really inspiring. By having a continuous dialogue between us, we are able to understand the data we collect. Jacques, Jean-François and I have a very fruitful collaboration and I really enjoy the teamwork.

What is challenging in biophysics at the moment?

There are people like me who have been working on membranes, but there are also people that have been working on cytoskeletons and it is very difficult to combine the two strands. It is clear that in a cell everything is related. Having control of a complete biomimetic system where the membrane and the proteins link the cytoskeleton to the membrane would help us to understand the shape of cells and cell adhesion. Another area that is challenging is neuron research. I think this will be developing in the future.  

If you weren't a scientist what would you do?

When I was at school, apart from science, I liked humanities subjects and literature. If I wasn't a scientist, I would like to write science fiction novels.