1st prize: Annie Castonguay, Université Laval

Annie Castonguay holds a PhD in neurological sciences from Université de Montréal and carried out her postdoctoral training in neurobiology at Université Laval with financial support from the FRQS.

A research professional in the laboratory led by Professor Yves de Koninck since 2011, she was involved in training and following up with nearly 70 students and postdoctoral trainees in a range of fields, including physics, engineering, mathematics, biology and chemistry.

Every year, she contributes to several grant proposals, organizes neurophotonics summer schools and seminars and liaises with national and international collaborators. In the laboratory, she developed highly original imaging approaches to capture co-transporter functions and improve current microscopes.

Very early on, she took an interest in the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion and their application in research environments. Highly committed, Annie Castonguay has followed nearly 20 training courses and taken part in a number of roundtables on the topic, leading her to identify a series a concrete measures to ensure better quality of life, recognition and integration for everyone in the workplace.