The Exocytosis-Endocytosis Club: A Story of Passion and Scientific Excellence
For over 20 years, the Exocytosis-Endocytosis Club has been a key player in the intracellular trafficking community. Despite evolving challenges, it has endured and now brings together more than 300 members from across France and neighboring countries—scientists passionate about endocytosis and exocytosis biology, intracellular trafficking, membrane dynamics, and microscopy.
The Club was born from the merger of two groups of French cell biologists, each dedicated to the study of endocytosis and exocytosis:
- The Exocytosis Club, founded in 1997 following a symposium at the 3rd Congress of the French Neuroscience Society titled “Molecular Bases of Exocytosis” (Bordeaux, May 26, 1997), by François Darchen, Bernard Poulain, Mike Seagar, and Thierry Galli. Its first annual meeting was held at IBPC, Paris, on February 5-6, 1998.
- The Endocytosis Club, founded in 1999 by Christophe Lamaze upon his return from the United States. He organized the first quarterly meeting at the Jacques Monod Institute in Paris (January 15, 1999), bringing together colleagues from several Parisian institutes, including Alexandre Benmerah (Necker Hospital), Rosine Haguenhauer-Tsapis (Jacques Monod Institute), Evelyne Coudrier and Graça Raposo (Curie Institute), Michèle Olivier-Bousquet (INRA, Jouy-en-Josas), and Christophe Lamaze (Pasteur Institute).
Under the leadership of Thierry Galli, the first joint meeting of the Exocytosis-Endocytosis Club was held in Paris in April 2001, marking the beginning of an annual event that has since become a must-attend gathering for our scientific community. Year after year, these meetings have grown in richness and diversity, taking place in iconic locations across France and Europe:
- Southwest Coast: Anglet (2006), Arcachon (2001), and Lacanau (2023)
- Northeast: Bitche (2003), Gérardmer (2010), and Munster (2020)
- French Riviera and Provence: Giens (2005, 2009, 2017), Carry-le-Rouet (2016), and L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (2012)
- Occitanie: Sète (2024) and La Grande Motte (2013)
- French Alps: Villard-de-Lans (2007) and Evian (2015, with Swiss colleagues)
- Brittany: Batz-sur-Mer (2008) and Pornichet (2014)
- Italy: Padua (2011, with Italian colleagues)
- Spain: Sant Feliu de Guíxols (2018, with Spanish colleagues)
These meetings are a testament to the vitality of our Club, the outstanding quality of research conducted within our community, and its influence beyond France’s borders.
A Promising Future Thanks to You
The Exocytosis-Endocytosis Club is as dynamic and welcoming as it is today thanks to the dedication and contributions of each of you. We are deeply grateful and excited to continue this beautiful scientific journey together.
Long live the Exocytosis-Endocytosis Club! Here’s to the next twenty years and beyond, with passion and energy!
¹ Niedergang, F., S. Gasman, N. Vitale, C. Desnos, and C. Lamaze (2017). “Meeting after meeting: 20 years of discoveries by the members of the Exocytosis-Endocytosis Club.” Biol Cell 109(9): 339-353.
Written by Christophe Lamaze, Thierry Galli, Claire Desnos, Delphine Muriaux, Stéphanie Miserey-Lenkei, and Florence Niedergang, former Presidents of the Exo-Endo Club.