In quantum topology, one usually constructs invariants of knots and 3-manifolds starting with an algebraic structure with suitable properties that can encode braiding and surgery operations in three dimensions. ln this talk, 1 review recent work on q-series invariants of 3-manifolds, associated with quantum groups at generic q, that provide a connection between quantum topology and algebra going in the opposite direction: starting with a 3-manifold and a choice of Spin-C structure, the q-series invariant turns out to be a character of a (logarithmic) vertex algebra that depends on the 3-manifold. [-]