The Inria Sophia Antipolis - Méditerranée center counts 34 research teams as well as 7 support departments. The center's staff (about 500 people including 320 Inria employees) is made up of scientists of different nationalities (250 foreigners of 50 nationalities), engineers, technicians and administrative staff. 1/3 of the staff are civil servants, the others are contractual agents. The majority of the center’s research teams are located in Sophia Antipolis and Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes. Four teams are based in Montpellier and two teams are hosted in Bologna in Italy and Athens. The Center is a founding member of Université Côte d'Azur and partner of the I-site MUSE supported by the University of Montpellier.

BIOCORE team applies mathematical and computational methods from Control Theory and Dynamical Systems to the study of models of biological networks (genetic networks, metabolic networks, signaling networks...) and microbial community in bioreactors.

See: http://team.inria.fr/biocore

Web page of JL Gouze http://www-sop.inria.fr/members/Jean-Luc.Gouze/JLGouze-eng.html
Web page of Olivier Bernard http://www-sop.inria.fr/members/Olivier.Bernard/

see also IBIS web page https://team.inria.fr/ibis/

Within the framework of the ANR project Ctrl-AB, the general aim is to exploit complex microbial communities in bioreactors system to optimize some productivity criteria via real-time control.

A mathematical model, defined by a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations, will be proposed to describe and control a microbial community of Escherichia coli bacteria and green algae Chlorella vulgaris growing together in a continuous bioreactor. The aim is to optimize the productivity of lipids by microalgae, based on the mutualistic interaction between the two species.

The first main task is to design this dynamical model (in collaboration with Ibis group, Inria Grenoble), to calibrate it, to study the stability of equilibria, the possible bifurcations, and in particular the possibility of coexistence of the two populations.

The second task will be to develop theoretical approaches to control the system (several controls are possible) to manage the composition of the communities, and to optimize some criterion or biomolecules of interest (e.g. lipid production). This task will also be done in collaboration with Ibis, Inria Grenoble.

Some references

C. Baroukh, V. Turon, and O. Bernard. Dynamic metabolic modeling of heterotrophic and mixotrophic

microalgal growth on fermentative wastes. PLOS Computational Biology, 13(6):1–18, 2017.

M. Mauri, J.-L. Gouzé, H. de Jong, and E. Cinquemani. Enhanced production of heterologous proteins

by a synthetic microbial community: Conditions and trade-offs. PLOS Computational Biology, 16(4):1–30, 2020.

Milias-Argeitis et al. (2016). Automated optogenetic feedback control for precise and robust regulation of gene expression and cell growth. Nat Commun, 7(12546)

Yegorov, I., Mairet, F., De Jong, H., & Gouzé, J. L. (2018). Optimal control of bacterial growth for the maximization of metabolite production. Journal of mathematical biology, 1-48.

• Subsidized meals
• Partial reimbursement of public transport costs
• Leave: 7 weeks of annual leave + 10 extra days off due to RTT (statutory reduction in working hours) + possibility of exceptional leave (sick children, moving home, etc.)
• Possibility of teleworking (after 6 months of employment) and flexible organization of working hours
• Professional equipment available (videoconferencing, loan of computer equipment, etc.)
• Social, cultural and sports events and activities
• Access to vocational training
• Social security coverage

Gross Salary: 2653 € brutto per month