First person - Artem Fokin.

This document is an interview with Artem Fokin, the first author of a paper titled "Inactivating negative regulators of cortical branched actin enhances persistence of single cell migration" published in the Journal of Cell Science. Fokin conducted the research while working as a postdoc in Alexis Gautreau's lab at Ecole Polytechnique in France. The paper explores the role of cortical branched actin in cell migration and the effects of inhibiting its antagonists. The research found that depleting these inhibitors resulted in increased cell migration, and combining three knockouts produced a significant gain in migration. The study also identified a checkpoint downstream of cortical branched actin that regulates an epithelial cell state and the role of vimentin in regulating migration persistence. Fokin chose the Journal of Cell Science for publication because it aligns with the focus of the research. [Extracted from the article]