Laura Cussonneau is a passionate researcher focusing on cellular proteostasis in both physiological and pathological contexts. She completed her Master’s degree in Health Sciences with a specialization in Cancer Biology at the University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 in France. Afterward, she obtained a PhD position in the Proteostasis group, under the supervision of Prs. Lydie Combaret and Etienne Lefai at INRAE in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Her research focused on a unique model of muscle atrophy resistance: the hibernating bear. She aimed to understand the biomolecular mechanisms underlying this fascinating phenomenon during extended periods of immobilization, particularly examining protein homeostasis and the factors involved in regulating this finely tuned mechanism. In September 2023, Laura joined Pr. Bert Blaauw’s group at the VIMM Institute in Padua as a postdoctoral researcher on a project called MYO-TUMOUR. This innovative project, recently funded by the European Commission as part of a Marie Skłodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, explores how controlling muscle mass loss during cachexia—a syndrome that causes involuntary weight loss in cancer patients—might influence tumor growth. MYO-TUMOUR primarily aims to expand scientific knowledge regarding the interplay between cancer biology and skeletal muscle physiology. Specifically, she is investigating ways to either slow tumor growth or enhance chemotherapy effectiveness by targeting skeletal muscle mass.