GREAT AT SMALL THINGS

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New Post-Doc collaborator at BCCM/ULC

Dr. Fabien Borderie has joined the team of BCCM/ULC in November 2015 to study the diversity of UV-sunscreen pigments in the polar cyanobacterial strains of the public collection. He has obtained a 2-years post-doctoral fellowship cofounded by the University of Liège thanks to the Federal subsidies for research and the FP7 people Marie Curie COFUND.


Moidons Cave (France)
 

During his PhD at the University of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Fabien has achieved a pluridisciplinary work on the proliferation of phototrophic biofilms in show caves (highly attractive touristic sites) and on new methods to protect them. He studied the effects of UV-C irradiation at the molecular, cellular and biofilm scales, as a new and alternative treatment to avoid the use of chemicals.

Project research at the BCCM/ULC includes a screening step of the extracellular UV-sunscreen pigments produced by polar cyanobacteria. Extraction, purification and molecular characterization of these pigments could potentially lead to the discovery of new ones and help to clarify their key role in the ecological success of cyanobacteria in extreme biotopes. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of these pigments will be tested, to investigate potential applications in the biomedical field.

 

Date of publication: 
Monday, November 30, 2015