I received my university degree in Physics from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, and obtained a Ph.D. in Soft Condensed Matter working with Dr. Jean Daillant at the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA) (Saclay, France). I then redirected the focus of my research to Biophysics during my post-doctorate in the group of Dr. Michael Elbaum at the Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel). I started my own group at McMaster University in November 2001, on a joint position between the Physics and Astronomy department and the Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences department.