ECR Spotlight – Mathilde Bertrand and Léopold Ghinter

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Mathilde Bertrand and Léopold Ghinter are authors on ‘ The heart's energy secret: impact of DHA deficiency on cardiac mitochondrial efficiency and thermal performance in sardine (Sardina pilchardus)’, published in JEB. Mathilde conducted the research described in this article while a PhD student in Philippe Soudant's lab at UMR 6539 LEMAR, IUEM, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Plouzane, France. Mathilde is now teaching at La Rochelle University, France, and a research assistant in the lab of Paco Bustamante at UMR 7266 LIENSs, La Rochelle, France, investigating the effects of global change (e.g. changes in food sources, soundscape) on the physiology and behaviour of marine fish, using experimental methods. Léopold conducted the research described in this article while a postdoc in Karine Salin and Christophe Lebigre's lab at UMR 6539 LEMAR, IUEM, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Plouzane, France. Léopold is now a postdoc in the lab of Loïc Teulier at Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés Equipe Ecophysiologie, Comportement, France, investigating how environmental change shapes fish physiology and life history via mitochondrial and whole-organism metabolism.