The aim of our team consists of understanding how the aberrant activation of an embryonic transdifferentiation program, namely the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, frequently observed in human cancers, facilitates the tumour initiation. By studying the oncogenic properties of the key embryonic regulators and the cellular properties provided by EMT, we actually have demonstrated that EMT inducers and the associated transdifferentiation process affords cells an increased plasticity and an exacerbate sensitivity to micro-environmental changes, favouring thereby the escape of failsafe programs  and their malignant transformation. Deciphering the underlying mechanisms and developing strategies aimed at functionally neutralising these embryonic functions constitute our two main research axes.