I am a geomicrobiologist with a geology background, interested in the impact of microbial communities on sedimentary environments. My main playground is lakes and their sediment. Lakes are diverse systems, that host immense potential for paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. But the processes influencing the deposition, preservation and transformation (early diagenesis) of their sediment are also diverse and complex. Microbial communities are the main actors in this  environment. Hence, understanding their diversity, structure and activity is fundamental in order to access the full potential of lacustrine sediments as paleoclimatic archives.

We use a panel of classic methods from geology (microfacies analysis, scanning electron microscopy, geochemical characterization of minerals and organic matter) and biology (epifluorescence microscopy, DNA and RNA analysis through gene quantification and sequencing,) to apply cutting edge approach to the field of geomicrobiology. I particularly focus on the way microbial communities can leave their imprint on the geological record, through for example the fossilization of microbial mats, the formation of microbialite structures and the precipitation of organomineralizations in general (aragonite, calcite, greigite, pyrite...).

I am also involved in the creation of a new scientific journal, called Sedimentologika. A journal that would allow free access, free reading, free submission for all, under the model of "Diamond Open Access". Sedimentologika is a community-based initiative, and is now open for submissions : visit the website and get involved in this open science initiative on www.sedimentologika.org  and check out the Sedimentologika social networks for more news !

​