You may search
Témoignage
How Research Led Camille Cunin to MIT
From Centrale to the laboratories of MIT, Camille Cunin has built a demanding career at the intersection of semiconductors, organic transistors, and neurotechnology.
After completing a PhD focused on the development of soft polymers for neural interfaces, she now works at Axoft, a startup in the Boston area just steps away from MIT, where she develops implantable devices designed to better understand brain activity.
She reflects on the key milestones that shaped her career and on how she first fell in love with research.
After completing a PhD focused on the development of soft polymers for neural interfaces, she now works at Axoft, a startup in the Boston area just steps away from MIT, where she develops implantable devices designed to better understand brain activity.
She reflects on the key milestones that shaped her career and on how she first fell in love with research.
A Bit of Serendipity
Nothing initially pointed Camille Cunin toward pursuing a PhD. As a student at Centrale Méditerranée, she joined KSI, the school's junior enterprise, imagining that a career in consulting lay ahead.
She later planned an internship in Tasmania, but the opportunity fell through. Just days before leaving for her international exchange, Camille still had no concrete plans. Unsure of what to do, she reached out to her professor, Guillaume Chiavassa, who helped her secure an internship in Boston at the Tearney Lab, affiliated with Harvard. That experience proved to be a turning point in her career.
Camille
I was at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), working on the assembly of ingestible capsules connected to an optical fiber that could visualize the digestive tract from the inside and improve the diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases such as Crohn's disease. That's when I started wondering why I had never considered research before - it suited me so well in so many ways. I think my perception of researchers had been very stereotypical. I imagined them as isolated individuals, brilliant geniuses working alone to solve impossible problems.
Extending the Journey - and Discovering a Passion for the Brain
Originally planning to stay for just six months, Camille ultimately extended her time in Boston to the maximum duration allowed under her visa. It was during this period that her interest in the brain began to take shape. Alongside her internship—meaning evenings and weekends—she connected with other research groups and started exploring neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease.
"I knew I was fascinated by the brain, but I hadn't yet figured out which angle I wanted to pursue."
Lyon: Exploring Different Paths Before Choosing One
After returning to France, with a stop in Taiwan along the way, Camille completed her inter-Centrale exchange at Centrale Lyon. There, she pursued a dual master's program in Bioengineering and Nanotechnologies, as well as Medical Imaging, allowing her to explore several scientific approaches related to neuroscience before deciding on her future direction.
Finding the Right Path
That experience also became a turning point.
"I realized it wasn't what I wanted to do. Neither medical imaging nor machine learning applied to diagnostic techniques felt like the right fit. I wanted to create a new type of device to study the brain in a way that had never been done before."
During her master's internship in Gardanne, at the cleanroom facilities affiliated with Mines Saint-Étienne, Camille was able to put that vision into practice by designing optoelectronic neural implants. "That's when I realized I could have a much greater impact on a device's performance by engineering the active material itself." At that point, pursuing a PhD became the natural next step in her journey.
MIT: Confirming a Sense of Belonging
After more than a year of preparing applications and interviews, Camille was accepted into MIT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Upon arriving, she quickly recognized the strength of her engineering education.
"In mathematics especially, I realized I had been very well prepared."
That realization helped her overcome a persistent case of impostor syndrome.
"Our education in the fundamental sciences, while broad, is incredibly rigorous. Even at MIT, I knew I belonged."
She was also awarded a prestigious fellowship in Health Science and Technology, recognizing academic excellence and supporting interdisciplinary research collaborations.
Over the course of four and a half years, Camille's PhD focused on the development of soft polymers for neural interfaces based on organic transistors.
Camille
The brain is an extremely soft tissue - almost like jelly. If you implant a rigid metal device into it, the mismatch in stiffness creates friction that can damage the surrounding tissue and trigger lesions or an inflammatory response. By using soft polymer substrates that can deform along with the brain, we can significantly reduce these effects.
From Research to Real-World Impact
Today, Camille works at Axoft, a Harvard spin-off located just steps from MIT in the Boston area. There, she develops implantable devices designed to assess the level of consciousness of patients with severe neurological disorders. The role allows her to move beyond proof-of-concept research and toward developing a technology that can make a tangible difference in patients' lives.
"For example, our technology will enable clinicians to monitor neurological state and the recovery of cognitive functions in patients with disorders of consciousness—and may even allow communication with some patients."
Advice for Students Considering the United States
For students considering applying to top American universities, Camille's message is straightforward: "You need to be self-motivated, eager to explore new horizons, persistent, and highly independent. Most importantly, don't hesitate to reach out to people."
It is often assumed that world-class research can only be done in the United States because of its exceptional resources. Camille offers a more nuanced perspective. In neurotechnology - her field - France is internationally recognized alongside major research hubs such as Switzerland and the United States, with leading contributions across several areas of the discipline.
The same is true in fields such as aerospace engineering and optics, where French laboratories attract PhD students from across Europe.
"When you have fewer resources, you're often forced to think more carefully from the outset and optimize every step. That can lead to research that is more inventive—and sometimes even more impactful."
Knowledge Is Empowerment
"I applied to some labs without knowing that one had a toxic culture, another only admitted students who had previously interned there, and a third no longer even existed."
She encourages students to seek advice and learn from the experiences of others before making important decisions.
Ironically, this was a habit she herself took time to develop. It was only after knocking on the doors of several professors—and eventually meeting with Guillaume Chiavassa—that she secured the internship that brought her to Boston.
"He followed my journey for several years. Without his support, I probably wouldn't be in Boston today."
Looking back, Camille believes that the people she met along the way played a defining role in her career.
She concludes with a simple piece of advice: "People are willing to help - you just have to be willing to ask."
