CurRiculum

• 2018-now Scientific consultancy & writing @ blue[c]weed, Brest, France

• 2014-now Honorary Research Associate, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

• 2018-2018 Research scientist, Ocean and Atmosphere flagship, CSIRO, IOMRC Crawley campus, Perth, Australia

• 2016-2017 Casual research scientist, Ocean and Atmosphere flagship, CSIRO, IOMRC Crawley campus, Perth, Australia

• 2014 -2015 Research Associate, School or Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.

• 2010-2013 Post Doc, Botany Department & Marine Research Institute, University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa.

• 2008-2010 Post Doc, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), New Caledonia.

• 2005-2008 Ph.D. in marine science, IRD, New Caledonia & Centre d’Océanologie de Marseille (COM), France.

• 2003-2004 Master 2 in environmental biosciences, Centre d’Océanologie de Marseille (COM), France.

• 2002-2003 Master 1 in population biology and ecosystem functioning, Université de Montpellier II, France.

• 2000-2002 B.Sc. and B.Sc. Hons. (First class) in Marine and Freshwater Biology, Napier University, Scotland.

• 1998-2000 DUT in biological and biochemical analyses, Université de Toulon et du Var, France.

• 1998 Baccalauréat Scientifique (including mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology)

Diving qualifications: CMAS3* and Classe IB (French equivalent of HSE, scientific SCUBA diver)

About my career ...

I was first introduced to taxonomy during my Master project in 2004. The objective was to explore the taxonomic difficulties linked to the study of the genus Sargassum. This preliminary study, focussed on the diversity of the genus in New Caledonia, was followed up by a Ph.D. project co-supervised by Pr. C.E. Payri (IRD, New Caledonia) and Pr. M. Verlaque (Université Aix-Marseille II, France). The principal objective of the Ph.D. was to revise the diversity of the genus Sargassum in New Caledonia using a combination of morphological and molecular analyses. The project was later extended to the South Pacific and a biogeographical analysis of the genus in the region. Collections were made during field trips and scientific expeditions in the region or through collaborations with teams in New Zealand, Hawaii, and Easter Island. I defended my Ph.D. in Marseille (Université Aix-Marseille II) the 12th of December 2008 (ms downloadable in French ici).

The objectives of my first post-doc (2009-2010) were to continue publishing the results obtained during the Ph.D. and increase the regional scope of the project. Hence, I started new collaborations with teams in Australia, Malaysia, and California and had the opportunity to start sampling in the Indian Ocean (Maldives and Mayotte). This first post-doctoral experience was also the opportunity to mentor Master students (mainly phylogeny and taxonomic revisions).

My second post-doc, based at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa, was funded by the Marine Research Institute in collaboration with the Botany Department of UCT for three years (October 2010 - December 2013, PI: J.J. Bolton). The main objective was the taxonomic revision of the genus Sargassum in the South West Indian Ocean to better understand the biogeography of the genus in the Indo-Pacific region. New collaborations were established with teams based in Reunion, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mozambique, Korea, Japan, and Belgium. I participated in the mentoring of Ph.D. students, mainly for the phylogenetic, taxonomic revision and biogeographical aspects of their projects.

From 2014 to 2018, I was based in Perth, Western Australia, where I have participated in projects on the ecology of coral reefs of the Ningaloo-Pilbara region in the north-west. I looked at the ecology of Sargassum and other seaweed species in this region. In February 2018, I started to study the opportunities for further development of the seaweed industry and aquaculture in Australia. Although large-scale seaweed aquaculture has been common practice and a valuable source of income for centuries in Asia it is still in its infancy in Australia and many places around the Indian Ocean. Western Australia and the Indian Ocean rim countries represent a huge source of largely untapped, and potentially high-value seaweeds which could be strong candidates for developing new innovative and sustainable seaweed farms.

Since September 2018, I am based in Brest (France) where I created blue[c]weed, an independent consultancy. I keep exploring the diversity of seaweeds and opportunities for their valorization. I work with coastal communities and companies willing to explore the potential of their indigenous species and develop sustainable commercial seaweed activities.