New Member ! Clémence Dupont-Thibert

Clémence is a new PhD student in the team ! The aim of her PhD will be first to develop modeling approaches to accelerate research at both scales for the microalga of industrial interest Microchloropsis gaditana CCMP526. Then, to link these scales to obtain a join organism-process optimization.

First, a genome-scale metabolic model of Microchloropsis gaditana will be corrected and validated. This model will be implemented according to the formalism of constraint-based metabolic models (COBRA). Model will then be used to identify metabolic and genetic engineering targets to optimize stain performance.

At the culture scale, models predicting culture characteristics –  growth, production of lipids overtime; depending on process parameters (light intensity, temperature, medium, etc.) and the organism parameters (metabolic capacities, capacity to use light, etc.) – will be implemented. These models will be developed using experimental data available in the laboratories and in literature.

Finally, the PhD will join both modeling scales in order to consider transversal aspects between a single cell and whole population. Optima combining metabolic interventions and process control will be searched.