Philippe Le Mercier

Philippe Le Mercier

Position: SIB resource manager

Research focus: Virus genome and proteome annotation

What do you love about viruses?
They don’t respect the rules

Who is your favourite scientist and why?
I got too many and can’t choose one!

On what topic could you give a 30-minute presentation without any preparation?
The taste of truth.

What is your favourite way to spend a day off?
painting

What are you currently learning?
The truth.

If you could create a new invention, what would it be?
A microscope strong enough to see the color of viruses!

What is the most interesting question or challenge in science that is still unanswered?
Unifying quantum mechanics with Einstein’s general relativity

What is the coolest thing about your research?
Knowledge is always evolving, dogmas are shaken and new wonder continues to be discovered

Which scientific topic (outside of your field of research) do you think should have more scientific attention?
quantum biochemistry

If you were completely free to choose a scientific topic to work on, which would it be?
What’s wrong with bats? They harbor too many viruses, it’s unreasonable.