the Italian-born Dr Salvetti, who holds dual FrenchยฑItalian nationality, started her Ph.D. in the ยฎeld of virology by working on the HTLV-I human retrovirus. Her interest in viral vectors and gene therapy arose during those years when she learnt to develop and use retroviral vectors for gene transfer. After obtaining her Ph.D. in 1992 at the University of Paris, she took up a 2-year postdoctoral position in the Laboratory `Retrovirus et Transfert Ge รne รtique' at the Pasteur Institute in Paris headed by Drs Jean-Michel Heard and Olivier Danos. During that period, she developed retroviral vectors expressing lysosomal enzymes applied to mucopolysaccharidosis type I and VII models. From 1994 to the end of 1995, Dr Salvetti worked as a research scientist at Somatix Therapy Corporation (Alameda, CA, USA) under the supervision of Drs Olivier Danos and Richard Mulligan. During that period, she focused her research activity on vectors derived from the adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV-2). On her return to France in late 1995, she contributed to establishing the Gene Therapy Laboratory headed by Dr Philippe Moullier at the