My name is Florent, I’m a 4th year PhD student working under the supervision of Helena Cruz de Carvalho, in Chris Bowler’s labs at the Institut de Biologie of the ENS (IBENS). I have a strong interest in molecular biology and genetics, which led me to work on the non-coding genome of the team’s model diatom species, Phaeodactylum tricornutum. During my PhD, I focused on the optimization of the CRISPR-Cas9 system using a dual-RNA guide approach to generate diatom mutant strains. To do this, I used the ability of diatoms to undergo bacterial conjugation, which provides an elegant and “clean” approach to insert genetic materialRead More →

I have always been attracted and fascinated by the ocean, observing, admiring, and exploring it. In high school, the idea of becoming an oceanographer struck me, and it stuck with me ever since. So I did an MSc in Oceanography in Belgium, which led to this Ph.D. thesis that I’m currently working on. I am now a Ph.D. candidate at IFREMER, in Nantes and I am currently working in marine biology. My research focuses on the in-depth study of the mechanisms underlying mixotrophy in harmful microalgae. More specifically, I am working on understanding the physiology of Prymnesium parvum, its trophic mode, growth, and toxin (prymnesins)Read More →

On 12 and 13 December 2023, the French Phycological Society held its workshop at the Ifremer station in Sète in the Celimer building, bringing together 42 participants. The scientific programme was wide-ranging, covering microalgae and macroalgae, both freshwater and marine, and encompassing a variety of research disciplines and contexts, from fundamental molecular, cellular and environmental research to applied research. These days are an opportunity for the scientific community to forge and/or consolidate links between generations, laboratories in France, and the various trades… Following a presentation by the UMR MARBEC, which was hosting the event, 16 oral presentations, including 2 plenary talks (“Mechanistic approaches to investigateRead More →

The French Phycological Society workshop was held at Ifremer Nantes on 6 and 7 December 2022. 57 members of the Society attended 2 invited oral presentations (“Ecophysiology of polar phytoplankton” by Thomas Lacour and “Metabolic coevolution in brown algae: the example of interactions between Laminariales and endophytic Ectocarpales” by Gabriel Markov) and 21 oral presentations. The topics were once again very varied (see the programme below) and 13 students competed for SPF grants: congratulations to Florent Charton (conference: EPC8), Clémence Boucher (conference: EPC8), Nolwenn Kergosien (conference: EPC8) and Wendy Diruit (conference: ISS)! The association also held its Annual General Assembly. On the afternoon of WednesdayRead More →

After my baccalaureate, I entered the Chemical Engineering – Process Engineering program at the IUT of Lorient-Pontivy in Pontivy, then I went on to engineering school at the ENSIC (École Nationale Supérieure des Industries Chimiques) in Nancy. I also did a double degree with the Hochschule of Mannheim in Germany. After these five years of study, I applied for a PhD at the UBS and I was selected! So I continued my studies on the topic of stabilization of Sargassum by different drying processes. My work consists in the optimization of convective drying and freeze-drying of macroalgae by pulsed electric fields for their biorefinery. TheRead More →