Dear Ashley, could you tell us more about your background ?

After obtaining a bachelor of science, I decided to enter a master’s program in “Biotechnology and Law”. This program integrates biology and law students. Our formation will allow us to have a job interfacing the science and the economic world by connecting scientific innovation to financial valorization.

What was the main objective of your study?

The objective of my study was to propose procedures concerning the acquisition and transfer of genetic resources so that they would comply with the requirements of international texts.

How did you proceed to achieve your goal?

To achieve this work, I studied the international treaties that deal with the question of genetic resources, which are the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. The meetings with the researchers working on the ARCAD project allowed me to understand their usual procedures (which kind of MTA - Materiel Transfer Agreement- they use for example) as well as their expectations.

It is your first contact with public research institutions and researchers. Could you tell us more about what you learn from such contact? Did your opinion/feeling about researchers/research activities (if you had one before) change?

I enjoyed having the opportunity to meet people from different research institutes who work together on a project as exciting as the ARCAD project. I was a little surprised to see that many researchers had an extremely busy schedule, so it was sometimes difficult to get answers to my questions or to set up a short meeting. Nevertheless, I think it’s a great initiative to take time to consider the importance and the meaning of the international treaties regarding genetic resources and I’m glad I contributed on this aspect.

What do you plan to do now?

This year, I’m attending the Management school in Grenoble to specialize in biotechnology firms’ management. This will give me the marketing and management skills necessary to work in biotech companies in the pharmaceutical, cosmetology or food engineering industry.