Where do you work, what is your position and who is your supervisor?

I’m a research assistant for professor Sachiko Sato. Our lab is part of the Research Center for Infectious diseases at Laval University in Québec city.

Which project do you work on?

Understanding and exploiting the activity of galectin-3 as a non-canonical pattern recognition receptor for fungal cell wall glycans in order to improve outcomes in invasive fungal disease (AM-7).

If you have previously attended the AGM/Symposium, what was your experience?

I attended the 2016 AGM/Symposium. My experience was fantastic. I met nice people, the organization was very professional and the level of science was very high. I think that this meeting is a great opportunity to bring together the Canadian glycomics community.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

I’m not the kind of person who does long term planning… For now, I really enjoy my job, and we have a few nice ongoing projects in the lab. I am very motivated for future developments in the next couple of years.

What does glycomics mean to you?

For me, studying glycomics means doing something different. I think that the importance of glycans is underrated in many scientific fields so it motivates me to pursue research in this field. Because of that, it also means having to explain my work more extensively; not that many people are aware that glycans have many important roles to play in our life (other than a source of energy). Despite that, I quite like the unconventional aspect of my work.

Based on your experience what advice would you give to junior trainees?

Be curious but in a methodological manner.

Is there something you would like to share about your experiences as a GlycoNet Trainee?

I’m glad that Glyconet considers research assistants as trainees. We are often left aside by the funding agencies for things like meeting or travel awards. I want to thank Glyconet for this recognition as it gives us access to many training opportunities.