Vincent Martin: developing long-term sustainable solutions to replace petrochemicals is a “no brainer.”
The morning discussion is part of the Mat’Inno lecture series, presented by Quartier de l’innovation in association with the Jeune chambre de commerce de Montréal. It takes place at Concordia on Friday, February 10, starting at 7:15 a.m. Breakfast will be served.
Martin, who holds the Concordia University Research Chair in Microbial Engineering and Synthetic Biology, researches the potential of microbes to act as small environmentally friendly factories that can convert simple carbon sources into bioproducts like industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Using a combination of functional genomics, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, he and a group of researchers at Concordia’s Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology (CASB) study the metabolism and physiology of microorganisms so that they can be engineered to become cleaner, better or cheaper products.
The CASB team has already taken steps towards developing a new method for producing synthetic opium for use in painkillers and other drugs. For Martin, developing long-term sustainable solutions to replace petrochemicals is a “no brainer.”
Register now for Quartier de l’innovation’s Green Chemistry and the Environment lecture.
Watch a video of Martin discussing his research in an interview with Le Devoir.
