It is with sadness that I announce that Daniel Louvard has decided to step down as an Editor of Journal of Cell Science, a role that he has performed admirably since 1992. He has reluctantly decided that he no longer has the necessary time to devote to JCS, although I am delighted that he has agreed to remain on the Editorial Board and I will, of course, continue to seek his advice.
Daniel has enjoyed a glittering research career in cell biology, initially as a group leader at the EMBL and subsequently in Paris, first at the Institut Pasteur and subsequently as Director of Research at the Institut Curie. He has had a long-standing interest in the organisation and function of the brush border of intestinal epithelium. He was at the forefront in applying immunolocalisation techniques in light and electron microscopy. He has made numerous contributions to our understanding of membrane traffic and to the organisation of the brush border, in particular the role of villin and its interaction with the cytoskeleton. Most recently, Daniel has used the villin promoter to generate transgenic mice in which to study intestinal function.
Daniel is the recipient of many honours, including prizes of the French Academy of Sciences and Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer. He is a member of EMBO, the French Academy of Sciences and the European Academy of Sciences. He has always been a champion of cell biology within Europe and was President of the European Cell Biology Organisation for many years. He is currently a member of the executive committee of the European Life Science Organization and a member of the EMBO council. Daniel has worked tirelessly to support young investigators, particularly in France. To address the difficulties of young French scientists returning from postdoctoral training abroad, Daniel initiated a very successful programme supported by CNRS for young group leaders seeking for independence at the beginning of their career.
I have always enjoyed working with Daniel. He has been tremendously evangelical about the journal and has managed to persuade many authors to publish in JCS for the first time. Despite his numerous responsibilities, he always makes time to support the journal and to offer good advice.
