Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off a four-day visit to Paris on Tuesday by visiting a lab that her late mother worked with in conducting breast cancer research in the 1980s.

In the coming days, Harris will attend the Paris Peace Forum, a meeting focusing on cybersecurity and an international conference on Libya ahead of its elections next month. The vice president might meet with world leaders individually on the sidelines of the week’s events, said her chief spokeswoman, Symone Sanders.

But most notably Harris will visit with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday as the U.S. works to smooth over tensions with its longtime ally. 

Washington’s relationship with Paris hit a historic low this year after a U.S.-British submarine deal with Australia scuttled a French contract to sell subs to the Australian navy. Late last month, President Joe Biden told Macron the U.S. had been “clumsy” in its handling of the issue.

Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff’s first public appearance in France was at the Pasteur Institute, where she met Tuesday with American and French scientists working on COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness. 

In one room, a virologist and researcher were analyzing how people respond differently to COVID infections. 

Olivier Schwartz, head of the virus and immunity unit at the institute, said he admired the work Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a biomedical scientist, did on breast cancer research. 

“The breakthroughs that she was responsible for in the ’80s was the basis for a lot of great work,” Harris said.

The vice president said she “grew up in a lab,” joking that her mother “fired” her from her “first job” for breaking the pipettes she was asked to clean.

Harris said the visit underscored joint determination to tackle global challenges, especially to end the coronavirus pandemic.

“Some of the most significant discoveries in science on any issue, from rabies to HIV-AIDS, to breast cancer, to mRNA and what we do around vaccines and pandemics, have occurred here in collaboration with French scientists, American scientists, scientists around the world coming together," she said.

Harris is scheduled to sit down with Macron at the Élysée Palace on Wednesday for talks expected to focus on ways the two nations can better coordinate their efforts in the Indo-Pacific.

When asked by a reporter Tuesday what her message for Macron would be, Harris said, “It is good to be in France, and I am looking forward to many, many days of productive discussions reinforcing the strength of our relationship.”

Sanders said the Biden administration is “focused on looking forward, not looking backward,” adding, “If we are going to tackle our global health challenges and prevent the next pandemic, we have to do this together.” 

Harris and Macron are also expected to discuss climate change, space and other issues. 

This is Harris’ third foreign trip in her first year as vice president. In June, she visited Guatemala and Mexico while seeking a strategy to stem migration to the U.S. from the Northern Triangle. 

In August, the vice president traveled to Singapore and Vietnam to strengthen relations with the Asian allies amid concerns about China’s growing influence. 

Harris departed for her latest trip as new poll numbers show her with woefully low support. A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Sunday had the vice president with a 28% approval rating, lower than Biden’s 38%, congressional Democrats’ 29% and congressional Republicans’ 35%. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.