Stephane Zaffran, director of the department DevCard, is a developmental biologist who has contributed to our better understanding of the formation of the Drosophila and mammalian heart. In 2004, his work using in vivo and ex vivo experiments demonstrated the contribution of second heart field (SHF) progenitor cells to the outflow tract and right ventricular myocardium. More recently, his works showed the involvement of retinoic acid signaling and Hox genes in early stages of mouse heart development. His lab is currently studying gene regulatory networks that regulate the SHF and the morphogenesis of the inflow tract as well as the formation of the heart valves.