CIMES team
Catalysis and Enzyme Molecular Engineering
Catalysis and Enzyme Molecular Engineering
The objective of our research is to identify or design efficient enzymes, whether it involves understanding their role in ecosystems, or exploiting them for sustainable biotechnological processes, particularly for health and environment.
Our scientific questions focus on the catalytic mechanisms and the relationships between sequence, structure, dynamics, specificity, efficiency and stability of our target proteins and multi-protein assemblies, as well as on enzyme-polymer interactions and the optimization of enzymatic processes, in vitro and in cellulo .
To address these questions, we combine our expertise and equipment to develop, adapt to our targets and integrate, as much as possible, computational and structural biology, protein engineering, high-throughput screening, and reaction engineering.
Our expertise mainly targets enzymes active on glycosides, plastic polymers and lipids. Our approaches being generic, they are also applied to other families of enzymes and non-catalytic proteins. Our team is built around three thematic axes, and is enriched by numerous inter-axial transversal projects, as well as by strong collaborations with the Carbios and SweeTech companies hosted at the TBI. The CIMEs team also benefits from the expertise and equipment of the PICT-ICEO platform.
Team axes
Academic partners
AFMB Marseille, BBF Marseille, IPBS Toulouse, IMRCP Toulouse, CEA Genoscope Evry, IPREM Pau, CERMAV Grenoble, CRPP Bordeaux, TOXALIM Toulouse, IRSD Toulouse, INRAE MIAT Toulouse, LISM Marseille, TIMC Grenoble, Genethon, DSIMB Université Paris, LBM Bordeaux, MICALIS Jouy-en-Josas, VIM Jouy-en-Josas
University of Cambridge UK, ICREA Université de Barcelone Espagne, University of Alicante Espagne, IQS University Ramon Llull Barcelone Espagne, IQAC-CSIC Barcelona Espagne, CNRS@CREATE A*star- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation National National University of Singapore, Singapore University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands, University of Toronto, Canada & Aalto University, Espoo Finland, NREL USA, University of Padoue Italy, ETH Zürich Swiss.
Private partners
Carbios, Sweetech, Resicare, Gene&GreenTK, Servier, Greentech, Sanofi, Roquette, Saint-Gobin, Naturamole
- Bessam AZIZI (2024-2027) – Generative AI for enzyme conformational exploration and design
- Nina COOPER (2022-2025) – Dynamics of enzymes dedicated for the synthesis or functionalization of biopolymers
- Vincent DULAU (2023-2026) – New enzymatic routes for the tailor-made glycosylation of plant-derived actives from sucrose.
- Jérémy LE REUN (2022-2025) – Enzyme and microbial engineering for the production of tailored lipids
- Iker PARDO-LARABEITI (2022-2025) – Control of spatial proximity for innovative enzymatic cascades to improve biomass deconstructionv
- Horizon BLUETOOLS (2023-2027): Innovative tools for sustainable exploration of marine microbiomes: towards a circular blue bioeconomy and healthier marine environments
- ADEME OPTI-ZYME (2023-2027) & Private contracts (2022-2023) : Enzymes for the recycling and biosynthesis of plastic polymers
- ADEME Bioimpulse (2019-2025): Bio-sourced production of a molecule for the development of non-toxic adhesives and resins
- ADEME Calipso (2024-2028): Nouvelles voies de production continues d’esters aromatiques par des lipases optimisées
- EXPLORAE TRANSFORMATION Nanobiocat (2025-2029): L’IA pour concevoir de novo des nano-liants catalytiques
- HEALTH IPCEI, Nectars (2025-2029): Nouveau traitement enzymatique de l’ARNm pour une stabilité accrue
- PEPR B-BEST Projet 2.1 Nanonmachines (2023-2028): Multi-enzymatic Nanomachines for the controlled transformation of terrestrial plant biomass
- ANR CONCERTO (2022-2025): Controlled spatial proximity for innovating enzymatic cascades to enhance biomass deconstruction
- ANR LABEL (2023-2026) : Conception d’assemblages moléculaires pour évaluer le rôle de la glycosylation sur l’activité d’hémicellulases
- ANR PRC ANDES (2023 – 2026): Artificial Intelligence-based methods for the design of nanobodies
- ANR PRCE BACTSQUEEZ (2022-2026): Bacterial signal quenching of plant pathogens with engineered enzymes
- ANR PRC DEEPEN (2020-2025): Molecular and evolutionary principles governing enzyme regioselectivity
- ANR EPPIC (2024-2028): Éco-innovation pour la production de polymères à partir de sous-produits du sucre ou de CO2
- Collaborative Project (France/ Spain) (2022-2024): QM/MM investigation of enzymes involved in plant lipid production
- IntraCREATE EcoCTs (France/Singapore) (2020-2024)- Engineering biology for a circular bioeconomy – Towards urban sustainability