Biotechnology

Since 2015, I have been working in a biotechnology lab. As I deeply believe that you cannot model something you are not able to manipulate, I choose to get trained in biology. In addition to having acquired basic lab techniques, I now train people to use flow cytometry and carry out pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorescence assays.

Microalgae are my favorite microorganisms because of their photosynthetic ability (which makes everything more complex, hence fascinating). But I also have experience with yeasts.

Aims

It is well-known that microalgal biotechnology large-scale deployment is hindered by three (four if you want to add strain optimization) bottlenecks: culture density - which is too low -, harvest - which is endergonic -, disruption/extraction - hampered by millions of years of natural selection. Along those, I target culture density: in photoautotrophic mode by increasing light use efficiency, in chemioheterotophic mode by lowering substrate costs.

Projects

On the academic side, I investigate the interaction between microalgae and light at the photobioreactor level. While its exploration started a long time ago now, much remains to be done. As for myself, I focus on biological behavior modeling and photobioreactor design. But I am far from restricting myself to these two fields.

I also lead projects with industrial partners. They usually revolve around photobioreactor performances assessment, developing culture protocol for exotic microalgae, …