[Portrait] Vanessa Kuentz, Head of Operations at Metaboscope
What is your job?
I have a master's degree in chemistry, specialising in analytical sciences, and joined the university in June 2024 after some experience in the private sector. My job is to manage the Metaboscope metabolomics analysis platform. This platform brings together a number of instruments for carrying out chemical analyses, mainly on plants, in order to detect molecules of interest for a given biological activity.
I maintain these instruments and provide analysis services for in-house laboratories as well as external academic and private clients (from sample preparation to delivery of final results). Services are also provided for teaching purposes as part of practical work and tutorial projects.
Finally, I respond to all external requests: requests for quotes for services, advice and training in the use of instruments, visits and presentations of the platform, etc.
What is its link with research?
I provide technical support to researchers, PhD students and trainees. My role is to carry out analyses for their projects. Some are very familiar with the tools and ask me to prepare the instruments so that they can run their own analyses, while others ask me to carry out the entire service myself and then send them a report with the final results.
What does it mean to you to work at a university?
The university is a place where people working on sometimes very different subjects and who are passionate about their research come together, which is very rewarding. We are given a great deal of autonomy in our work and I never get bored on the platform because there are so many different tasks to do.
What advice would you give to people who want to work in research support?
Be well-informed about the different professions and fields, because they are all very different. Be well organised, passionate about what you do and curious to discover new things all the time.
What object or image from your business best illustrates you?
This is one of our most frequently used instruments. It's called ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a high resolution mass spectrometer. It's the first instrument I got to grips with when I arrived, but also the one that gave me the most trouble, because it's particularly sensitive and requires a lot of maintenance work.
The metaboscope platform
The «Metaboscope», located on the Jean-Henri Fabre campus of Avignon Université, within the AgES Institute, brings together a range of shared facilities designed to support the research and teaching activities of Avignon Université, INRAE and the projects of other universities or private players, particularly in the fields of agronomy, agri-food, the chemistry of natural substances and health.
Research portraits
Updated on 21 January 2026