CNRS Gold Medal

Today, Edith is director of London's Francis Crick Institute and holds the Chair of Epigenetics and Cellular Memory at the Collège de France in Paris.

Her career has taken her to the cutting edge of European science and earned her honours including France's highest scientific distinction, the CNRS Gold Medal.

Not bad for someone who describes her younger self as a shy, introverted child who would hide under the sofa with a book to avoid the noisy household goings-on.

Maybe it comes down to good genes.