Foundations of Polysaccharide Science

Serge Perez was born in Perigueux, France, and earned his degree in crystallography from the University of Bordeaux. He subsequently spent one year at the Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon (Eugene, USA), followed by three years in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Montreal, Canada. He then returned to France after accepting a permanent position as a junior scientist at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) at the Centre de Recherches sur les Macromolecules Vegetales (CERMAV) in Grenoble. During this period, he also completed a sabbatical year at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, USA.

Perez later moved to Nantes, France, to join the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, where he was appointed Senior Research Scientist and founded a research group in Molecular Engineering. In January 1996, he returned to Grenoble as Chairman of CERMAV. After completing his third term in this role, he served for three years as Scientific Director of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, with responsibility for research programs in chemistry, life sciences, and imaging. Following four years at the Department of Molecular Pharmacochemistry (CNRS-Universite Grenoble Alpes), he returned to CERMAV as an emeritus research director.

His research spans the structural and conformational analysis of oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, glycoconjugates, and protein-carbohydrate interactions in both solution and solid states. His expertise encompasses computational chemistry, molecular modeling and bioinformatics, crystallography, and NMR spectroscopy, with a particular emphasis on structure-function and structure-property relationships. He is the author of approximately 350 peer-reviewed research articles in the field of structural glycoscience.

Beyond his scientific contributions, Serge Perez has been actively involved in national and international committees dedicated to evaluating scientific research, managing a Doctoral School, developing multilateral collaborative frameworks, many involved in European frameworks, and promoting glycoscience. He has substantial experience in evaluating research infrastructures and maintains a strong interest in startup enterprises, the economics of glycoscience, and e-learning initiatives, notably through his involvement with Glycopedia (https://glycopedia.eu/). He serves on several editorial boards, including Carbohydrate Research, and has edited or authored multiple books, including Chitin and Chitosans in the Bioeconomy (2021), Biomass in the Bioeconomy (2022), Algae in the Bioeconomy (2024), and Plastics in the Oceans (2025).