Eva Cavallari works at the Cell & Plant Physiology Laboratory (LPCV).

Her project: MixCO2 – Exploring the structural and metabolic bases of microalgal mixotrophy for optimum biomass production (Project co-funded with DefiCO2 CDP project)

Hi, my name is Eva and I come from Italy. I am a PhD student in the Cell and Plant Physiology Laboratory at CEA Grenoble, where I am working in the Photosynthesis team under the supervision of Drs. Allorent, Curien and Finazzi.

I completed my studies in Molecular Biology at the University of Padova and I initially joined the team as an Erasmus+ trainee to study light acclimation mechanisms in the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Taking advantage of this model organism, my thesis project aims at better understanding the interplay between light and carbon utilization in microalgae. C. reinhardtii is indeed an extremely versatile photosynthetic organism, capable of adapting to different light and trophic conditions (phototrophy, heterotrophy and mixotrophy). Of particular interest, in mixotrophy, both light and organic carbon are used as energy sources, via a finely regulated balance that results in a more efficient cell growth. However, the biochemical and cellular rearrangements underlying such energy optimization are not fully elucidated yet. Our objective is therefore to explore how varying light and metabolic inputs are linked to structural changes in the photosynthetic cell compartment, the chloroplast, at different spatial scales ranging from protein expression to organelle dynamics. By contributing to understand the processes regulating microalgae photosynthetic efficiency, CO2 sequestration and biomass production, the results of this work hold potential implications for future biotechnological applications.

Outside the lab, I love playing basketball and spending time in the mountains surrounding Grenoble, a dynamic city that combines excellent scientific facilities and beautiful nature.