Gene Circuit Engineering

We study carbohydrate and protein functions using organic synthesis and protein engineering. We aim to design and modify therapeutic and biotechnological systems, uncover biological mechanisms, and develop new tools for synthetic and chemical biology.

We engineer the catalytic properties of plant enzymes as a mechanism to improve plant stress tolerance and/or productivity. Our current focus is on oxygen-sensing Plant Cysteine Oxidases, which we modify to enhance plant adaptation to hypoxia.

We study the development of plant roots and their relationships with microbes. Our aim is to engineer transkingdom signalling between plants and bacteria to enhance plant growth.

We study biomolecular systems, focusing on antibacterial resistance and oxygenase regulation. We specialize in iron and zinc-dependent metallo-enzymes, contributing to antibiotic research and gene regulation.

Creating biotechnologies at the interface of control engineering, synthetic biology and robotics.

We investigate the signalling mechanisms that link oxygen availability to plant growth and development, to understand adaptations to oxygen fluctuations throughout evolution and to design novel biotechnological strategies.