Three questions for biologist Magali Toussaint

What’s the most exciting thing about your job?

The most thrilling part of my job is how varied the work is. As a biologist working on preclinical imaging tools for glioma, my work covers everything from designing in vitro-based models to doing in vivo imaging and assessing potential treatments. I also greatly value the collaboration with clinicians, chemists and physicists. The real challenge is to find solutions that address our shared goal – improving patients’ lives – while ensuring that the specific demands of each discipline help to reach that aim, rather than standing in our way.

If money and time were no object, what would your next project be?

If time and funding weren’t a concern, I’d love to create a collaborative platform to bridge the gap between in vitro and in vivo glioma models. The idea would be to develop clearly defined, patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models for different glioma subtypes, alongside matching organoids. For each model, we would systematically provide MRI, PET, and histological data openly available to the research community. By building on great initiatives like the EuroPDX consortium and NIH programs, this platform could offer standardized, high-quality data to help accelerate glioma research and the development of better treatments.

If you could choose anyone, who would you like to have dinner with and what would you talk about?

If I could study again, I would like to go for sociology. I would love to have dinner with people like Ghada Hatem-Gantzer, whose dedication and initiative have a direct and lasting impact on people’s lives. She founded “La Maison des Femmes”, and I admire her tenacity. I would love to hear how her project came about, what challenges she faces, and explore with her how medical and social science can work together to create meaningful change.