ENAC Seminar Series by Dr M. Laureni
Event details
| Date | 01.07.2021 |
| Hour | 13:30 › 14:30 |
| Speaker | Dr Michele Laureni |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
13:30 – 14:30 – Dr Michele Laureni
Postdoctoral researcher, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Microbiome engineering for wastewater-centred environmental resource biorecovery
Microbial communities (“microbiomes”) drive global nutrient cycles, shape our diets and health, and are the beating heart of biotechnologies of invaluable societal and environmental relevance, such as wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and the anaerobic recovery of biogas from organic residues. Rapid advancements in high-throughput and cultivation-independent genome sequencing are disclosing unprecedented biotechnological opportunities by illuminating the immense diversity and metabolic repertoire of natural and engineered microbiomes. Yet, our current system-level understanding of the mechanisms controlling how different microorganisms are selected and interact remains limited, greatly hindering our ability to fully harness microbiomes function. In my lecture, I will discuss the potential central role of WWTP in the development and wide adoption of ground-breaking biotechnologies for environmental resource biorecovery. Also, I will advocate for the establishment of novel systems microbiology approaches to resolve metabolic interactions in complex communities. Based on my own research, I will start by focussing on the microbial metabolism that is paving the way for enhanced carbon recovery and energy-efficiency in WWTP. Next, I will discuss the potential of the integration of metagenomics and metaproteomics to streamline rational bioengineering to commoditize materials from diverse organic feedstocks. Also, an underlying motif of my lecture will be the importance of elucidating general ecological principles to understand the responses of the global biosphere to a rapidly changing climate. Ultimately, I seek to highlight the need for the involvement of society at large to accelerate fundamental knowledge transfer into application towards the transition to a circular, bio-based and resilient society.
Short bio:
Trained as an environmental engineer, Michele Laureni holds a PhD in process engineering from ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich) and Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology), where he worked under the supervision of Prof. E. Morgenroth and Dr. A. Joss. After graduating, Michele obtained a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship to join the Environmental Biotechnology group, led by Prof. M.C.M. van Loosdrecht at TUD (Delft University of Technology), with a joint appointment at Aalborg University in the group of Prof. J. L. Nielsen. Currently, Michele is developing his own independent research at TUD as a Dutch Research Council (NWO) VENI Laureate, and is co-supervising five PhD students. His work aims to understand how mixed microbial communities assemble and function, and to translate this fundamental knowledge into community engineering principles. To this end, Michele integrates advanced microbiological methods with bioreactors and mathematical modelling. Also, he is now leading a national research program with the Dutch waterboards to apply proteome-based approaches to resolve the metabolic network underlying nitrogen turnover during full-scale wastewater treatment.
Postdoctoral researcher, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Microbiome engineering for wastewater-centred environmental resource biorecovery
Microbial communities (“microbiomes”) drive global nutrient cycles, shape our diets and health, and are the beating heart of biotechnologies of invaluable societal and environmental relevance, such as wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and the anaerobic recovery of biogas from organic residues. Rapid advancements in high-throughput and cultivation-independent genome sequencing are disclosing unprecedented biotechnological opportunities by illuminating the immense diversity and metabolic repertoire of natural and engineered microbiomes. Yet, our current system-level understanding of the mechanisms controlling how different microorganisms are selected and interact remains limited, greatly hindering our ability to fully harness microbiomes function. In my lecture, I will discuss the potential central role of WWTP in the development and wide adoption of ground-breaking biotechnologies for environmental resource biorecovery. Also, I will advocate for the establishment of novel systems microbiology approaches to resolve metabolic interactions in complex communities. Based on my own research, I will start by focussing on the microbial metabolism that is paving the way for enhanced carbon recovery and energy-efficiency in WWTP. Next, I will discuss the potential of the integration of metagenomics and metaproteomics to streamline rational bioengineering to commoditize materials from diverse organic feedstocks. Also, an underlying motif of my lecture will be the importance of elucidating general ecological principles to understand the responses of the global biosphere to a rapidly changing climate. Ultimately, I seek to highlight the need for the involvement of society at large to accelerate fundamental knowledge transfer into application towards the transition to a circular, bio-based and resilient society.
Short bio:
Trained as an environmental engineer, Michele Laureni holds a PhD in process engineering from ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich) and Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology), where he worked under the supervision of Prof. E. Morgenroth and Dr. A. Joss. After graduating, Michele obtained a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship to join the Environmental Biotechnology group, led by Prof. M.C.M. van Loosdrecht at TUD (Delft University of Technology), with a joint appointment at Aalborg University in the group of Prof. J. L. Nielsen. Currently, Michele is developing his own independent research at TUD as a Dutch Research Council (NWO) VENI Laureate, and is co-supervising five PhD students. His work aims to understand how mixed microbial communities assemble and function, and to translate this fundamental knowledge into community engineering principles. To this end, Michele integrates advanced microbiological methods with bioreactors and mathematical modelling. Also, he is now leading a national research program with the Dutch waterboards to apply proteome-based approaches to resolve the metabolic network underlying nitrogen turnover during full-scale wastewater treatment.
Practical information
- General public
- Invitation required
- This event is internal
Organizer
- ENAC
Contact
- Cristina Perez