Photo of Quentin Montardy (first from left) and his Chinese colleagues from the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute. [Image: Shenzhen Institut es of Ad vanced Technology, CAS]

Name: Quentin Montardy

Project Number: 2017PB0090

Duration of stay in China: 2017-01-01 to 2018-12-31

A few years ago, I arrived in China from Europe (France) as a young post-doc, without really knowing how the research work was in China. This country and the working methods here have been very surprising to me. The methodological differences have been a real re-initiation to science, an opening towards another way of proceeding and improving science that has deeply enriched me. Several years later, and with this dual scientific culture, I finally had the opportunity to apply for the PIFI scholarship.

I was extremely happy and honored to be able to obtain it, and thus to participate even more formally in the work of CAS. Indeed, CAS has been an exceptional host for me, bringing me not only knowledge and a working framework, but also responsibilities and resources that I could never have had elsewhere. I am very grateful to the organization for this. This work that I have just completed under the PIFI umbrella was obviously not done alone: I had the help and support of precious Chinese collaborators, now friends; and the kind guidance of Dr. Wang Liping who taught me a lot.

During all these years I have also had the freedom and responsibility to help our institution build strong international scientific bridges with European laboratories and institutes, which I believe will lead to prolific collaborations. Indeed, CAS includes many very high-quality institutes, and it is important for me to share it and make this known by professors, young doctors, and European students. It is therefore certain that for me, my future scientific future will be with CAS, first of all to pursue most of my research within its institutions, but also to promote high-level scientific collaborations between CAS and European institutions. My identity as a foreign researcher at CAS, my now dual scientific culture, is a specific and strong quality that I wish to share with CAS institutions in the future.

Source: Quentin Montardy