Pathway to Independence - an interview with Maëlle Bellec.

Maëlle Bellec is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim, Germany, working in Didier Stainier's lab. During her PhD and postdoc, she has pioneered systems for live imaging of translation in developing embryos, first in Drosophila and then in zebrafish. She aims to continue this work in her own independent research group. Maëlle is part of the 2026 cohort of Development's Pathway to Independence (PI) programme, which aims to support postdocs transitioning towards establishing their own labs and securing independent funding. We spoke to Maëlle to learn more about her work on translation dynamics in development, her hopes for the programme and her career journey from vineyard to microscope.