Microbial Ecology

Mélanie completed her bachelor's degree in biology through problem-based learning (APP) at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). She then continued her studies to complete a master's degree in ecotoxicology at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS). Already having a strong interest in the genome before her master's degree, she saw during her graduate studies the potential of data processing in genomics. This is why she decided to complete her training with a specialized graduate diploma in bioinformatics at UQAM, in order to learn more about this new and expanding field.

After completing her studies, Mélanie began her career at the Lazar laboratory, carrying out the preliminary work that would allow the funding of the MicroGenNx project. Subsequently, she worked on the Pôle du lac St-Pierre in collaboration with the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) and Université Laval, on a project studying different agricultural practices and their impacts on biodiversity. She also worked at the Institut de Recherche et Développement en Agroenvironnement (IRDA) to help develop new agricultural methods while ensuring the safety of these processes. Following this mandate, Mélanie worked at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in research, in the aquatic contaminants division, to determine the impact of various pollutants (wastewater and agricultural effluents) on aquatic biodiversity.

 

Since then, Mélanie has been working at the Lazar laboratory on the MicroGeoNx project. This project aims to characterize the microbial communities found in deep underground layers. The creation of a database of microorganisms found according to various environmental and geological parameters can subsequently be used by mining companies to optimize their search for areas of interest. In addition to obtaining a more precise drilling zone that corresponds to their request, this new application will reduce exploratory drilling and reduce the negative impacts of this practice on the environment.