Lyon, September 2026

This September, the RDP laboratory (Reproduction et Développement des Plantes, Lyon) hosted the first in-person INTERFACE Meeting, bringing together 80 researchers from across France for three days of scientific exchange on membrane biology.

From a webinar series to a national research network
Since 2020, the Cell Signalling and Endomembrane team at RDP, led by Yvon Jaillais, has run a monthly online seminar series dedicated to membrane biology. What began as a local initiative has grown into a well-attended fixture of the European research landscape, regularly attracting 60–90 participants from numerous European institutions. With approximately 50 seminars held to date, the series has become a reference point for the community (seminar series webpage).

Beyond its scientific impact, this initiative helps structure the French and European plant membrane community while championing innovative, sustainable communication practices—a commitment recently recognised through funding from the CNRS research network.

A three-day meeting and a training programme for early-career researchers
The first in-person INTERFACE Meeting offered three days of talks, discussion and networking for the French plant membrane biology community.

Ahead of the meeting, the local organising committee also ran a two-day training course at the RDP laboratory for ten PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. The programme combined practical sessions built around the microscopy set-up developed at RDP with soft-skills learning sessions covering grant writing, chalk talks and leadership in science.

Local organising committee, INTERFACE Meeting 2026 :
Nelson Serre, Claire Lionnet, Charlotte Kirchelle, Marie-Cécile Caillaud, Vincent Bayle and Yvon Jaillais (RDP, Lyon)