2016 – 2019 : partner of the ANR SoilMicro-3D: “Emergent properties of soil microbial functions: Upscaling from 3D modeling and spatial descriptors of pore scale heterogeneity”, conducted by the UMR EGC (other partners: UMR iEES, UMI UMMISCO, SIMBIOS (Scotland), UMR Géosciences Rennes, UMR JJL, UR Inra Science du Sol Orléans). The aims of the project are
- develop new descriptors of the pore scale 3D soil heterogeneity that explain the fluxes measured at the core scale
- improve the performance of 3D pore scale models to simulate processes from pores to cores with a reduction of the computational time
- develop new simple models describing the soil micro-heterogeneity and integrating these microfeatures into field-scale models
2014 -: participation to the OPTIBIO (New challenges in the optimal control of bioprocesses) project funded by the Fundation FMJH (Fondation Mathématique Jacques Hadamard) within the PGMO (Gaspard Monge Program for Optimization and Operation Research) program.
2014 – : participations to the methodological INRA-MIA networks MEDIA (Modèles d’Equations DIfférentielles et Autres systèmes dynamiques pour l’écologie) and REM (REduction de modèles).
2013 – 2014: MnMs RNSC network (Numerical Modelling for Microbial ecosystems)
The network aims to have brain stormings about the numerical modelling of the dynamics of microbial ecosystems: how to articulate the existing models, discrete or continuous, deterministic as well as random, in a framework that consider multiple scales and interactions between the scales.
2012 – 2013: participation to the ASYDE CNRS-INS2I PEPS project (Analyse de systèmes de digesteurs biologiques).
2009 – 2013: DISCO PROJECT / ANR SYSCOMM PROGRAM (Multi-scale modelling bioDIversity Structure COupling in biofilms)
The objectives are to generate new insights in:
- microbial ecology, contributing to a better understanding of the links between the spatial structures (physical and morphological characteristics) and the biodiversity of biofilms, and how these links at the same time impact and depend on macro-variables (concentrations, flow rates, …) and studying biological properties (e.g., functional differences between fresh and mature biofilm, mechanisms such as the “barrier effect”);
- waste and waste-water treatment processes, investigating how these links impact on the biological and physical performances of the biofilm (surface colonization, substrate degradation, detachment resistance,…) and proposing improvements of decision making tools (e.g. criteria for detecting the maturity of the biofilm, strategies of improving the start-up phase of biofilm reactors).
The consortium is composed of the team MODEMIC, the IRSTEA labs LISC (Laboratoire d’Ingénierie pour les Systèmes Complexes, Clermont) and HBAN (Hydrosystèmes et Bioprocédés d’ANtony), the INRA LBE (Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l’Environnement, Narbonne) and the UMR LPTMC (Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de la Matière Condensée, Univ. P. et M. Curie, Paris). The consortium hires two postdoctoral fellows and one engineer.
2010- 2012: INRA-MIA network MODYM (MOdèles Dynamiques et Métaboliques)
2010 – 2011: E-MICRAM PROJECT / RNSC PROGRAM (appel à idées) (Emergence of properties of reconstituted MICrobial ecosystems)
The E-MICRAM project (Emergence of properties of reconstituted microbial ecosystems) proposed jointly by BIOEMCO (Laboratoire de Biogéochimie et écologie des milieux continentaux, Paris), the UMR Eco& Sols (Montpellier) and the team MODEMIC has been selected as a young project of the national network of complex systems for one year. The objective of the project is to conduct experiments and modelling of microbial ecosystems composed of several species in interaction, each of them being well studied alone, and to study gradually how interactions are responsible of the properties of the overall ecosystem.
2009 – 2010: VITELBIO PROJECT / ARC INRIA (VIrtual TELluric BIOreactors)
VITELBIO stands for VIrtual TELluric BIOreactors and is co-sponsored by INRIA (ARC) and INRA (AAP), in collaboration with UMR Eco&Sol and ITK company. The scientific challenge is to study and identify models of small networks of virtual interconnected bioreactors as a simplified representation of the microbial activity in soils. The focus is made on input/output representations of particular functions of the microbial communities : carbon sequestration, availability of nutrients for plant roots… The project gathers ten teams and aims at developing a user-friendly software and experiments on a network of four interconnected chemostats.
2009 – 2010: BIOINH PROJECT / AGROPOLIS FOUNDATION (Modelling and optimization of bio-conversion of plant materials in inhomogeneous media)
The project BioInh (Modelling and optimization of bio-conversion of plant materials in inhomogeneous media) proposed by the UMR IATE (Ingénierie des Agropolymères et Technologies Emergentes, Montpellier) and the team MODEMIC is founded by the Agropolis foundation (Montpellier) for two years since 2009. The project aims at studying inhomogeneity effects in enzymatic reactors with the help of models of cascade of reactors. The presence of inhibition in the growth function may lead to instabilities and drive the system toward several possible equilibria, one of them only being interesting in terms of yield and productivity. Experiments are planned for the coming year, and the final objective is to derive control strategies for driving the system toward the best equilibrium. The project hires A. Saddoud in a postdoctoral position for two years, and R. Lortie (NRC Biotechnology Research Institute, Montréal, Québec) as a regular visitor.
2008 – 2013: ANR DIMIMOS
This fundamental research project aims at better understanding of functional microbial soil ecosystems with respect to the turnover of soil organic matter (SOM). More specially, we aim at evaluating the role of the microbial diversity in transforming SOM, in order to better manage the carbon in its biochemical global cycle within agro-ecosystems. This project must deliver new insights for managing agricultural productivity (allow better agricultural practices) while maintaining a high quality of soil over the long term.
