Calcineurin

What do you think about the state of research in France? I am rather concerned. France has the financial and human resources to carry on highly competitive research, yet it needs a major overhaul of its current system. I would like to convince the Government to invest much more and for a longer time in basic science — applied research won’t be effective if not supported by strong academic research. And I would like to convince many of my colleagues who are unhappy with the present situation that we need changes, to embrace what is working elsewhere: primarily a granting agency, local independence, good contracts for postdocs. In many ways, the centralised organisation and culture of the country is impeding the development of biology, which does not naturally operate on the same (big) scale as physics. Life science labs have their own particular needs and constraints compared to other branches of science, so organisational rules devised for other sciences may hinder progress and efficiency in biology if rigidly applied (and vice versa of course).