Louis-Charles Fortier Biography

Contact me

Full professor and principal investigator of Fortier’s Lab

Head, department of microbiology and infectious diseases (since 2024)

President of the institutional animal ethics review board (since Dec. 2020)

Director of the Infection & Inflammation research thematic of the faculty of medicine and healh sciences of the UdeS (since July 2021)

Academic training and previous work experience

2004-2007 Postdoc training at Université Laval, Québec in Sylvain Moineau’s lab
  • During my postdoc in Sylvain’s lab, I studied phages infecting the lactic acid bacterium Lactococcus lactis, as well as abortive infection systems. This is also where I started studying phages of Clostridium difficile.
2002-2004 Research assistant in the lab of Chantal Guillemette, Centre de recherche du CHUL, Québec
  • As a research assistant, I was responsible for clinical trials and to perform various experiments related to the study of UGT enzymes.
2000-2002 Professor of biology, Cégep de Shawinigan, Qc
  • For 2 years, I taught various classes in biology, immunology and experimental biology to students from the technical programs in biotechnology, and medical laboratory. I also taught to students from the general program in natural sciences.
1996-2001 Ph.D. Université McGill, Montréal, Lab of Byong H. Lee and Jean Guzzo (ENSBANA, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France).
  • During my PhD, I spent my first year in the lab of Dr. Jean Guzzo at the ENSBANA in Dijon (France), where I learned how to work with the lactic acid bacterium of wine Oenococcus oeni. Then I came back to Canada and worked in Byong Lee’s lab at McGill (MacDonald Campus) and Agriculture Canada (Saint-Hyacinthe). I studied acid stress response in O. oeni, in particular the H+-ATPase.
1994-1996 M.Sc. Université de Sherbrooke, lab of Pierre Bourgaux
  • During my master program, I studied homologous recombination in the polyomavirus.
1991-1994 B.Sc. Université de Sherbrooke, Biology program, Biotechnology concentration

Prizes and recognitions

  • 2021 – Pharmacology prize awarded by the students of pharmacology in recognition of the quality of my teaching in the pharmacology program at the U. de Sherbrooke
  • 2017 – Pharmacology prize awarded by the students of pharmacology in recognition of the quality of my teaching in the pharmacology program at the U. de Sherbrooke
  • 2012 – Junior 2 salary award from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQ-S)
  • 2008 – Junior 1 salary award from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQ-S)
  • 1998 – PhD scholarship (FCAR)
  • 1998 – First prize – oral competition – Biotechnology section (Institute of Food Technology meeting, Atlanta)
  • 1996 – PhD scholarship (French Government)
  • 1995 – MSc scholarship (Medical Research Council of Canada)

Courses and teaching

  • MCB 103 – Microbiology laboratory in pharmacology (BSc program in pharmacology)
  • VIR515 – Virology laboratory (BSc program in microbiology)
  • PHAGE HUNTING PROJECT (as part of the undergraduate course VIR515)
  • VIR500 – Virology course (BSc program in microbiology)
  • MCR 717/718 – The microbiome in the physiology, immunology and metabolism of the host (graduate level)