Hélène Launay, winner of the FEBS Excellence Award

A new experimental approach

During her thesis at University College of London on the study of three-dimensional protein folding, then during a post-doctoral contract at the University of Lille 1, Hélène Launay trained in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Since 2018, she has been a CNRS research fellow at the laboratoire Bioénergétique et ingénierie des protéines and co-leads the BIP02 team on algal metabolism and the carbon cycle. In 2020, she obtained funding from IM2B via the "New Entrants" call for projects. This enabled her to set up her own research theme, opening up new perspectives on the study of the regulation of CO2 assimilation by microalgae, notably through the use of NMR as a new experimental approach for these themes.

Regulation of photosynthesis in microalgae

To support research in the molecular life sciences, the FEBS Excellence Awards provide €100,000 over three years for projects by group leaders at the start of their careers. The winning project submitted by Hélène Launay involves studying the regulation of photosynthesis in different models of microalgae, notably in the "green yeast" Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and in diatoms, which account for 40% of ocean biomass. The NMR approach will enable us to observe both the architecture and function of proteins produced by microalgae.