What can happen during a short stay at a marine station?

I was fortunate to receive an EMBRC-supported grant to carry out a small project on calcium imaging in sea urchin larvae at the Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (IMEV).

What makes IMEV special is not only its location on the French Riviera, but also the scientific history embedded in the place itself. Since the late 19th century, researchers have come to Villefranche-sur-Mer to study marine embryos, fertilization, plankton, and development; taking advantage of the bay’s extraordinary biodiversity and direct access to living marine organisms. In many ways, modern marine developmental biology was shaped in places like this.

And you still feel that spirit today.

Although IMEV is relatively small, it is well equipped and highly efficient for experimental work (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (IMEV), Villefranche-sur-Mer, France.

Access to marine organisms, imaging platforms, and technical support made it possible to rapidly test several GCaMP variants and explore live imaging approaches in sea urchin larvae (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Calcium imaging in the sea urchin larva Paracentrotus lividus expressing GCaMP6s.
A. Brightfield image overlaid with GCaMP6s fluorescence signal (green). B – B’. MAX projections from selected time windows of an XYT recording, showing representative spontaneous calcium activity patterns. Fluorescence intensity is displayed using the Fire (LUT).

A key part of what made this project so productive was being hosted by Luis Bezares Calderon.

I had never met Luis before this visit. I knew his work on neuronal and behavioral mechanisms in Platynereis, so during the proposal stage I sent him a simple email asking whether he would consider hosting me at IMEV. He generously agreed.

From the beginning, he gave me full access to his lab resources and created a highly collaborative environment. But what shaped the experience most was not only the experimental support, it was the way he constantly challenged the thinking behind the experiments.

His questions were persistent and fundamental: Why this approach? How will it answer your question? Are you just going to look at traces forever, or understand their function?

Coming from a molecular biology background, I was used to thinking mainly in terms of genes, molecules, and cellular mechanisms. Working with Luis pushed me to think more directly about nervous system function and behavior. For the first time in my life as a researcher, I witnessed behavioral assays in sea urchin larvae with my own eyes while simultaneously trying to connect activity dynamics to biological function.

This connection between molecules, cells, neural activity, and behavior is something Luis actively builds into his science. I found that intellectually challenging, stimulating, and genuinely exciting.

This experience reminded me that marine stations are not just places to run experiments. They are environments where questions can evolve quickly because of access, collaboration, and the intensity of scientific interaction.

I am very grateful to everyone at IMEV, and especially to Luis, for making this possible.

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