**About the Editors**

## **Daniel Ladant**

Dr. Daniel Ladant is Director of Research at French CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) and the head of the "Biochemistry of Macromolecular Interactions" unit at the Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. He obtained a Ph.D. in Microbiology in 1989 and a Habilitation a Diriger des ` Recherches (HDR) in 1999 from the Universite Paris Diderot, Paris, France. His research focuses ´ on the study of the molecular mechanisms that underlie protein–protein and protein–membrane interactions, using as a model system of a bacterial toxin, the adenylate cyclase, CyaA, produced by *Bordetella pertussis*, the causative agent of whooping cough. He has characterized the structure, function, biogenesis, and mechanisms of action of CyaA. He has also exploited this basic knowledge to develop various applications in vaccinology (engineering CyaA as an antigen-delivery vehicle) and biotechnology (designing a CyaA-based two-hybrid technique, BACTH). He has published more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals, written over 40 review articles or book chapters, and co-authored 14 patents.

#### **Gilles Pr ´evost**

Dr. Gilles Prevost is an assistant professor–hospital practitioner (C.ex), head of the Unit Research ´ 7290, and responsible for the master's programme "Biologie–Sante" at the University of Strasbourg, ´ France. He obtained a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology in 1988 and a Habilitation a Diriger ` des Recherches in 1996. His main research work deals with the molecular epidemiology of bacteria and bacterial simplification, and he currently focuses on the development of antibiotics with new structural and beneficial aspects of bacterial toxins. Of note, he has participated in work to identify and characterize the large family of staphylococcal bicomponent leucotoxins. He has primarily concentrated on the molecular and cellular biology of Panton–Valentine leucocidin, a virulence factor with potentially severe consequences. He has published more than 100 PubMed-referenced articles, has an *h-index* 46, has written more than 35 reviews and book chapters, and has co-authored 3 patents.

#### **Michel R. Popoff**

Dr. Michel R. Popoff, DVM 1973, Ph.D. 1985, h-index 63. Assistant Professor at the Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. Head of the research unit "Anaerobic bacteria and toxins" from 2002 to 2019 and head of the French National Reference Center "Anaerobic bacteria and botulism" from 1998 to 2017. His laboratory is focused on *Clostridium* toxins through genetic and biological activity analysis and has investigated the regulation of toxin synthesis in *Clostridium botulinum* and *Clostridium tetani*. In recent years, he has analyzed the molecular mechanism of the actin depolymerizing *C. sordellii* lethal toxin and clostridial binary toxins, the pore-forming *C. perfringens* epsilon toxin, and the passage of botulinum neurotoxins through the intestinal barrier. A member of the French Veterinary Academia and co-editor of the 3rd and 4th editions of the *Sourcebook of Bacterial Protein Toxins*, Academic Press, (2006 and 2015) and several books. Editor-in-chief of the section Bacterial Toxins of the journal *Toxins*.

#### **Evelyne Benoit**

Dr. Evelyne Benoit completed her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the age of 26 and her habilitation to lead research in 2010 at Paris-XI-Orsay University (France). She is a senior researcher at the CNRS and is responsible for "Ion transfers and pathophysiology of sensory and neuromuscular conduction" studies. To gain a better understanding of these processes, she studies the mechanism of action of emerging neurotoxins and uses some of these bioactive agents because of their specificity of action. She has published 117 papers in reputed journals, has written 41 book chapters, and has co-authored 2 patents. From 2016 to 2021, she was the President of the French Society of Toxinology (http://sfet.asso.fr/international/).
