Martin Gauthier received a B.Sc. in biology from the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) in 1997. During his studies he participated in several information campaigns orchestrated by the non-profit organization Société pour Vaincre la Pollution, which raised awareness amongst fishermen about the level of toxins in the St. Lawrence river. He helped in the production of brochures and maps showing the areas with the highest levels of toxins and their accumulation in different species of fish. He became particularly interested in plants while working on a reforestation project in the Saguenay/Lac : region. In April 1998 he joined the fruit research team at the St-Jean-sur-Richelieu station of Agriculture and Agri- Food Canada. He worked on the evaluation of new apple and rootstock selections and on the scanning electron microscopy of pollen from several fruit species.