Paul Schouveiler’s mobility experience, co-financed by the SPS Teaching and Training – Mobility Open Call

Paul Schouveiler is a PhD candidate in the PHYGERM team at the Institute Jean-Pierre Bourgin for Plant Sciences (INRAE, Versailles). He is pursuing a PhD on the abscisic acid regulation network during seed development and germination, under the joint supervision of Jean-Denis Faure and Julia Zinsmeister. Paul spent four months in Melbourne (Australia), in the laboratory of Prof. Mathew G. Lewsey at the La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF).

Tell us shortly about your PhD project

"My thesis project focuses on the role of abscisic acid, a plant hormone, in the acquisition of seed dormancy, which corresponds to a physiological inhibition of germination. I use spatial approaches, such as single-cell transcriptomics and spatial metabolomics, to better understand how different tissues in a seed collectively contribute to dormancy and to identify new potential regulators of this process."

How will the mobility impact your project and which objectives will you be able to reach thanks to it?

"Thanks to this mobility in Australia, I was able to improve my skills in single-cell transcriptomic analysis on data I had generated in France. In addition, I developed spatial metabolomics approaches on seeds using MALDI timsTOF, an instrument recently acquired by La Trobe University. These two innovative techniques will enable us to create a multi-omic spatiotemporal atlas of the role of abscisic acid in establishing dormancy."

What did this mobility experience give you on a personal level, beyond the scientific aspect?

"This experience abroad also allowed me to meet some wonderful people, both in my host lab in Melbourne and at the two conferences I attended in Perth and Horsham. One of my best memories is the culinary discoveries I made, especially since we used to go out for lunch every Friday at a restaurant representing the nationality of one of my team members, which was very international."

Would you recommend to other PhD students to spend a period in another lab? Why? 

"I would definitely recommend all other doctoral students to spend time abroad as part of their thesis! It allows you to discover new ways of working and thinking about a research project, which is really enriching for your own thesis project. In addition, spending time in another lab also allows you to develop scientific relationships and potentially explore opportunities for future positions."