Expertise and research topics

The expertise of the IBS focuses on five interrelated themes:

• Biological Molecules :

Understanding the structure-function relationships of biological molecules and molecular complexes is fundamental for the development of biomimetic approaches to solving problems based on what is found in nature. The development of new detection tools (biosensors) using biological molecules is also a major theme of our research activities.

• Applied Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Environmental processes:

This theme aims to develop bioprocesses which are used in the pharmaceutical, food-processing and environmental fields by combining the properties of microorganisms or mammalian cells, the development of mathematical models based on their metabolism, the development of specific technologies and the development of optimisation and control tools.

• Organism and Cell Adaptation:

This theme aims to understand the mechanisms employed by living organisms to adapt to their environmental constraints. In this context, particular attention is paid to the study of chemical communication, the mechanics of the cytoskeleton and the molecular basis of mechanotransduction.

• Ecophysiology – Environmental Biology and Microbiology :

This theme aims to study and follow relationships between living things and their environment by focusing particularly on the ecological and physiological properties that arise from multi-species associations, such as bacteria and corals.

• Ecology of Populations, Biodiversity and Evolution :

The analysis of the mechanisms that govern population size and metapopulations of living things, as well as their distribution and abundance, is an essential element of this theme. The Research Institute’s activities decipher the natural diversity of living organisms by studying their mechanisms of change over time.