Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova is a

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

-American chemist who is a Professor and Associate Vice President for Research at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. One of the areas of her research interest is the development of new molecules to combat bacterial and fungal resistance.

Early life and education

Garneau-Tsodikova was born in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. She attended the

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

for her undergraduate studies in chemistry, where she graduated top of the class. As a student, she was honoured with several awards, including distinguishments from the

Chemical Institute of Canada The Chemical Institute of Canada is a Canadian professional umbrella organization for researchers and professionals in the field of chemistry. It was founded in 1921 as the Canadian Institute of Chemistry until it merged with other groups in 1945 ...

and

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; , CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. NSERC directly funds university professors and students as ...

. She completed a Master's thesis on the synthesis of glutamyl

transfer RNA Transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA), formerly referred to as soluble ribonucleic acid (sRNA), is an adaptor molecule composed of RNA, typically 76 to 90 nucleotides in length (in eukaryotes). In a cell, it provides the physical link between the gene ...

synthetase inhibitors. She moved to the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

for graduate studies, where she worked on the impact of antimicrobial agents of bacterial cell walls. During her doctoral studies she became interested in infectious diseases and the development of antibacterial agents.

Research and career

Garneau-Tsodikova moved to the

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

for her postdoctoral training where she worked with Christopher T. Walsh on the formation and modification of di

pyrrole Pyrrole is a heterocyclic, aromatic, organic compound, a five-membered ring with the formula . It is a colorless volatile liquid that darkens readily upon exposure to air. Substituted derivatives are also called pyrroles, e.g., ''N''-methylpyrrol ...

s. At

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

she was trained in both enzymology and biochemistry. In 2006, Garneau-Tsodikova moved to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where she was an Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry. She spent seven years at

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, until she moved to the

. She was promoted to Professor and Assistant Dean in 2018. Garneau-Tsodikova's research focuses on the development of antifungal and antibacterial agents. In particular, Garneau-Tsodikova focused on drug resistance in tuberculosis and in fungal infections by ''

Candida auris ''Candidozyma auris'' is a species of fungus that grows as a yeast. It is one of the few species of the genus ''Candidozyma'' which cause candidiasis in humans. Often, candidiasis is hospital-acquired infection, acquired in hospitals by patien ...

''. She was also involved in the development of multifunctional enzymes with tunable biological properties. She served as an Associate Editor of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

journal ''MedChemComm'', now called ''RSC'' ''Medicinal Chemistry''.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garneau-Tsodikova, Sylvie Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Université Laval alumni University of Alberta alumni University of Kentucky faculty Canadian women chemists 21st-century Canadian chemists 21st-century Canadian women scientists