The close connection between biology and mathematics is relatively recent. After completing her doctorate in 1984, she did not begin pursuing this line of research until the early 2000s.
The Irène-Joliot-Curie Prize now recognizes her outstanding research. She is also concerned about the difficulties young women scientists encounter, particularly "on returning from maternity leave": a top-flight theorist attuned to the practical problems facing her colleagues.

Sylvie Méléard in 2016.