Meet Camille Leblanc, professor at Hólar University

Meet Camille Leblanc! She is a professor at Hólar University in the beautiful countryside of Skagafjörður, northern Iceland. She has been working with Arctic charr for over 10 years and has mentored many students in her young career! She has been doing such an amazing job that in October 2023 the Icelandic Biological Society awarded her a prize for an outstanding early research career in Biology! But Camille is much more than just a scientist.

Becoming a scientist

Back in France, young Camille dreamed of becoming a marine biologist or an archaeologist. Inspired by her favourite fish, the whale shark she went on to study Biology. She worked with tortoises before diving into work with different types of fish. This fishy work is what brought her first to Iceland almost 20 years ago. In the Icelandic nature and fish, she found inspiration for her PhD. She was able to do a dual degree between Oregon State University, USA and the University of Iceland.

Thinking back, the hardest part about her PhD was the uncertainty of knowing when it will finally be enough and when it will be done. But she did love the creativity of designing her own PhD project and all the things she got to learn while studying in two countries. The highlight was getting to learn how to do surgery on a fish!

Keeping curious

As a scientist Camille studies how different types of fish change with time and how they respond to their direct environment.But finding answers usually leads to even more questions! One of her favourite parts of her work is all the different things she gets to do. Her curiosity keeps her learning new things every day in and out of work. She is working towards a master’s degree in human nutrition, and loves to stay active with athletics, water sports, knitting, cooking, and gardening.

Advice from Camille

If you want to become a researcher too, her advice is to try: your motivation and your curiosity are the best drivers regardless. Keep trying, keep curious and keep asking questions. Anybody can be a scientist if they wish to. Do you want to get a graduate degree? Knowing WHY you are doing it is one of the most important things. Be motivated and driven by the topic of your project. Also try to connect with your supervisor before starting making sure you actually want to work with that person.

Future plans

Camille is far from being done learning and growing. She hopes to expand her work beyond Iceland and conduct more research abroad. She is also very passionate about mentoring students and wants to keep encouraging and supporting young scientists. She further hopes to engage more with the local schools and community. And a personal dream of hers is to be part of a research expedition at sea! Given her drive and passion we are sure she will make that dream come true!