In brief, our lab uses computers to study biology. We are particularly interested in unlocking the potential of microbes to address multiple societal challenges.

Main research topics

• Explore the functional potential of microbes across diverse ecosystems in terms of genetic and biochemical diversity.
• Understand the role of metabolic interactions in the organization of complex microbial communities.
• Predict the response of metabolic regulation mechanisms to genetic and environmental perturbations.
• Design synthetic microbial consortia for sustainable biotechnological applications.

Genome-scale metabolic models are one of the core components of our research. We use these models to study microbial metabolism and integrate multi-omics datasets that are generated in close collaboration with our wet-lab colleagues. 

Projects

• Cell4Chem - Engineering microbial communities for the conversion of lignocellulose into medium-chain carboxylates (ERA CoBioTech)