Organizing Committee
Professor Benoit Cudennec is a researcher at the University of Lille and a member of the Sol4Health team within UMRT BioEcoAgro 1158. He obtained his PhD in Marine Biotechnology and Physiology from the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in 2009 and was recruited at the University of Lille in 2011, where he also teaches biochemistry. His research focuses on understanding how products generated during dietary protein digestion influence intestinal physiology and contribute to beneficial health effects. His work combines biochemistry, physiology, and biotechnology to investigate the bioactivity of food-derived molecules at the intestinal level. In particular, using enteroendocrine cell models, his team studies how specific peptide fractions modulate gut hormone secretion, providing insights into key mechanisms involved in food intake regulation, glucose metabolism, and gut-brain communication. In parallel, his group develops advanced in vitro intestinal cell models to evaluate the ability of biomolecules and microbial metabolites to modulate epithelial integrity, inflammatory responses, and oxidative stress. This integrated approach provides a comprehensive understanding of how bioactive compounds act at multiple levels of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, his research includes the selection and functional characterization of probiotic strains and their fermentation products, with a focus on antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective effects. Finally, his work contributes to the valorization of agro-food byproducts as sustainable sources of functional biomolecules, supporting circular bioeconomy strategies.
Renato Froidevaux is professor of biocatalysis at the University of Lille. He heads the « Biotransformation, Biocatalysis and Enzymes » team within the BioEcoAgro Cross-Border Joint Research Unit. His work focuses on enzymatic biocatalysis applied to the valorization of agricultural resources, particularly food proteins for the production of bioactive peptides and lignin for the production of bio-based flavorings. His approach involves searching for new enzymes in biodiversity, studying the reaction conditions of enzymatic proteolysis, the immobilization of biocatalysts, and the development of reactors (batch, continuous flow). He is the author or co-author of 60 articles, 3 book chapters, and 3 patents. He is/has been (co-)responsible for approximately 15 national, international, and industrial collaborative research projects. Currently, he is responsible for the « VALOREEMA » Industrial Chair, which brings together academic partners from Lille and Canada (INAF-Quebec) and industrial partners, in the valorization of agro-resources from agricultural and agri-food industries (chicory, endive, pea, miscanthus sectors) by biotechnological tools (extraction, fermentation and enzymatic biocatalysis) for the production of functional and/or bioactive molecules (peptides, esters, etc.) intended for human, animal and plant health, bioenergy and packaging.
Danielle Lando holds a doctorate from the Pasteur Institute in Paris, specializing in virology research. She spent her career in the pharmaceutical industry, working as a researcher in cellular and molecular pharmacology before taking on the role of head of biotechnology at Roussel Uclaf, which later became Sanofi. She actively fostered closer ties between her company and academia by supporting collaborative projects. She was an appointed member of the CNRS National Committee from 1995 to 2000.
Since 2001, she has been involved in volunteer scientific work with Adebiotech, an association where she currently serves as Vice-President.
Audrey has a PhD in Biotechnology from Strasbourg University. She did her research at the ICPEES (Insitute of Chemistry and Processes for Energy, Environment and Health) in the frame of a European project (P4SB : from Plastic waste to plastic value using Pseudomonas putida synthetic biology). Her focus was on the enzymatic recycling of polyurethane. After a year as project manager at the Region Grand Est, she is, since 2022, Innovation Manager at Bioeconomy for change, a French cluster dedicated to support innovation in bioeconomy mainly in Hauts-de-France and Grand Est regions. Audrey’s mission is to gather scientists and industrials on biobased chemistry and biotechnologies.
Rozenn RAVALLEC is a professor at the University of Lille and leads a team in the UMRT INRAE BioEcoAgro. She has almost 20 years of expertise in the development of agri-food co-products and her research focuses more particularly on the biological activity of peptides generated during gastrointestinal digestion and their interactions with the intestinal environment.
It is also responsible for a platform allowing the screening of biological activities. This platform consists of the implementation of assay techniques but also of methodologies for understanding the mechanisms of action of peptides, in particular anti-stress (opioid), antihypertensive (ACE inhibitor), involved in the regulation of metabolism. energy, (obesity, diabetes) or even anti-inflammatory.
This platform also seeks to measure the cytotoxic impacts of these active molecules. She is involved in the European BBI BIOSMART project on the design of intelligent bio-sourced packaging for better preservation of food quality, co-director of a joint team with the company Ingredia (AlLInPep) and co-director of the laboratory international associate (LAI) on the bioproduction of natural antimicrobials (LIAAN) with INAF in Quebec.
Administrative and accounting assistant at Adebiotech since 2012
Margaret Varkados-Lemarechal recently joined Adebiotech as a volunteer.
She was previously a Senior Consultant at the Fondation de la Maison de la Chimie in charge of the Foundation’s programs communication, involved in the committees of the scientific conferences for the industrial sector, and a member of the selecting committee to identify, finance and follow up Post Docs for Start Ups projects.
In the past, she worked as a Biotechnology researcher, focusing on antibacterial and antifungal research at Hoescht Marion Roussel, now Sanofi, collaborating with the Pasteur Institute for each study.
At Pierre and Marie Curie University, currently Sorbonne University, she obtained her Master’s degree in Biochemistry and PhD in Organic Chemistry, where she worked on antibacterial and antiviral inhibitors.
