Photosynthesis on Earth is consuming twenty times more CO₂ than what human activities produce in the athmosphere, and is therefore the main actor of carbon cycling in the athmosphere. Our group will explore the mechanisms by which photosynthesis acclimates to environmental changes like light availability, CO₂ concentration or temperature.

To this end, we will be using the model green microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, eventually expanding our acquired knowledge on other algae and on higher plants like Arabidopsis thaliana.

Our questions and goals: How are microalgae dynamically reacting to environmental fluctuations? How do molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis dynamically interact to optimise cell survival and growth under fluctuating conditions? What genes are important for acclimation to such fluctuations? Can we modify key enzymes to make photosynthesis more robust to some environments?

While we will focus mostly on research at the Carnegie Institution, we of the Burlacot Lab recognise that we are in a diverse community and must take actions to ensure that everybody is treated equally and has equal access to academic opportunities. We acknowledge that we must act now to combat social inequalities, racism, sexism and any form of discrimination. We will contribute to fighting discriminations within science and academia and promote the path of people from underrepresented background in academia.

We aim to actively take part of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commitement of the Carnegie Institution for science in this way.