Loupoigne, Walloon Region, Belgium
Everyone knows that antioxidants have become compounds of great importance in health care and as food additives. Thanks to my PhD in Chemistry, I had the chance to work six years in that exciting field. It started in the Laboratory of Macromolecular Chemistry and Organic Catalysis at the University of Liège and continued in the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at the University of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech. I have been covering different areas of expertise related to antioxidants, from their organic synthesis until their incorporation in food. At the University of Liège, I learned to appreciate organic synthesis. The production, the purification and the structure determination of described compounds or, even better, of new molecules has always been a very stimulating challenge to me. Furthermore it made me develop several hard/soft skills and specific competences in : - Multistep organic and enzymatic synthesis, - Eco-friendly and green strategies, - Process under inert atmosphere, - Common purification techniques, - Common analytical techniques: NMR (1H, 13C, 31P), GC-MS, HPLC, FTIR, UV, CHN. At Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, I was part of an important project (€4 Million) created to develop biorefinery for the production of value-added chemicals from biomass. The applications of those compounds are numerous and as part of the team in charge of the synthesis, I had the chance to collaborate with experts in many areas such as drug design, non-ionic surfactants technology or bread making. For that last one, I helped to develop and study new bread additives that demonstrate antioxidant and surfactant properties. That aspect of the project made me develop new skills in : - Bread making and bread analyzing techniques, - The design of experiments, - Statistical analysis. Besides, I have also been working one year in collaboration with Centexbel on the conception of new nanometric polymeric additives to polypropylene for technical textile industry.
Updating the job descriptions sheets if the QC laboratory staff. Participation to the planning of the QC laboratory staff training.
Chemistry teacher at Ecole Montgomery
Synthesis of new antioxidants and food additives from lignocellulosical material (Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech).