text: Dimitra Markovitsi is a Greek-French photochemist. She is currently an Emeritus Research Director at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). She pioneered studies on the electronically excited states of liquid crystals and made significant advances to the understanding of processes triggered in DNA upon absorption of UV radiation. The two facets of her work have been the subject of a recent Marie Skodowska Curie European training network entitled "Light DyNAmics - DNA as a training platform for photodynamic processes in soft materials."