People
Frank DELVIGNE
Professor
Frank is a professor of bioengineering at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, a position he has held since 2015. His academic journey began with a PhD in bioprocess scale-up/down, where he developed stochastic models to predict the microenvironment encountered by cells in large-scale bioreactors. Following his PhD, he conducted postdoctoral research at INSA Toulouse in France, focusing on the characterization of cell population dynamics and diversification (phenotypic and genotypic). Recently, this research led to the discovery of the Fitness-Entropy compensation rule, a fundamental principle that can be applied to various cellular systems to predict the mechanisms and intensity of phenotypic diversification, as well as its impact on cellular entropy. Frank’s research expertise is complemented by his teaching responsibilities, which include courses on mathematical modeling of dynamic systems, systems and synthetic biology, bioprocess engineering, and more applied topics such as project-based courses on the production of valuable compounds by microbes, bioreactor operations in the lab and single-cell analyses.
Romain BOUCHAT
Postdoctoral
B.S: Bioengineering, GxABT – ULiège
M.S: Bioengineering, GxABT – ULiège
My expertise lies in optimizing bioreactor cultivation and co-cultivation, as well as utilizing single-cell technologies like microfluidics and cytometry.
Laurie Josselin
Postdoctoral
B.S: Environmental Biology and Chemistry, University of Limoges, France
M.S: Organic chemistry – Biomolecules, Catalysis and Environment, University of Limoges and Poitiers, France
My expertise lies in linking biology and chemistry through analytical chemistry, specializing in analyses for biological models.
Satoshi Izumoto
Postdoctoral
B.S: Biological and Environmental Engineering, University of Tokyo
M.S: MS. Biological and Environmental Engineering, University of Tokyo
I am a visiting postdoc from the Applied Geophysics group at ULiege, with a geoscience background focused on reactive transport and spectral induced polarization, now applied to microbes.
Juan Andres Martinez Alvarez
Research Associate
B.S: Chemical sciences; ITESM, Monterrey, Mexico
M.S: Bioengineering; ITESM, Monterrey, Mexico
I am an expert in systems biotechnology and bioengineering, specializing in understanding cell regulation through a cybernetic approach.
Fanny HOWA LOPEZ
PhD Student & Research Assistant
B.S: Biology and Chemistry, University of Nice
M.S: Chemistry, Biology and Drugs, University of Strasbourg
Interface between biology and chemistry.
Hannah Sehrt
PhD Student
B.S: Molecular biotechnology, University of Bielefeld
M.S: Molecular biotechnology, University of Bielefeld
My PhD project focus on continuous plasmid DNA production in E. coli, utilizing scales from bioreactors to microfluidic chambers.
Fabian Roeloffs
PhD Student
B.S: Molecular Biotechnology, University Bielefeld
M.S: Molecular Biotechnology, University Bielefeld
My expertise lies in microfluidic single cell cultivation of bacteria and archaea as well as cultivation in a bioreactor.
Vincent Vandenbroucke
PhD Student
B.S: Engineering, University of Liège
M.S: Biomedical Engineering (chemistry focus), University of Liège
I make tools to model cell population dynamics in a variable environment, to enable control in continuous bioprocesses.
Mathéo Delvenne
PhD Student
B.S: Bioengineering, GxABT – ULiège
M.S: Bioengineer, spec. Chemistry and Bioindustries, GxABT – ULiège
I am investigating the General Stress Response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and E. coli using single-cell technologies (flow cytometry and microfluidics).
Mélanie Grégoire
PhD Student
B.S: Bioengineering, GxABT ULiege
M.S: Chemistry and Bio-industries, GxABT ULiege
Specialized in Bacillus subtilis bioengineering, developing biosensor systems for single-cell analysis of protein secretion dynamics.
Maximilian Sehrt
PhD Student
B.S: Molecular biotechnology, University of Bielefeld
M.S: Molecular biotechnology, University of Bielefeld
I use molecular and engineering techniques to study the effects of toxicity on population dynamics with Pseudomonas putida.
Tiphaine Gallet de Saint Aurin
PhD Student
B.S: Life Science, Lille Catholic Unniversity, Lille
M.S: Microbiology and Physicochemistry for food and wine processes, Institut Agro, Dijon
I work on population heterogeneity in E. coli, with a focus on recombinant protein production and the associated metabolic burden.
Mikaila Kinore
PhD Student
B.S: Biochemistry microbiology, University of Ouagadougou
M.S: Microbial and cellular biotechnology, University of Ouagadougou
My expertise lies in cell culture in plates, cell fermentation, and statistical data analysis.
Samuel Telek
Technician
Research and development in biotechnology. Expertise in fermentation from laboratory scale to pilot scale.
Andrew ZICLER
Technician
Expert in automation and 3D design, I optimize microbiology lab development with innovative and tailored solutions.
Former Members
Lucas Henrion
PhD Student
B.S: Bioengineering, GxABT ULiege
M.S: Chemistry and Bio-industries, GxABT ULiege
I’ve been exploring how microbial populations shape the activation of specific genes in continuous cultivation systems, with the aim of developing control strategies to promote more homogeneous and productive outcomes.
Ghazal (Fatemeh) Bajoul Kakahi
Postdoctoral
B.S: Microbiology
M.S: Microbiology
With expertise in molecular biology, microbiology, and protein characterization, I focus on bioprocesses, microbial physiology, single-cell analysis, and biofilm characterization, demonstrating versatility and depth in the field.