General information
Organisation
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.
Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.
The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
Reference
SL-DRF-26-0327
Direction
DRF
Thesis topic details
Category
Life Sciences
Thesis topics
Study of the rare earth elements selective detection in Pseudomonas putida and development of chelating architectures
Contract
Thèse
Job description
Rare earths (REE) are widely used in high technology, and demand for REE is set to double over the next 30 years. The selective extraction and recycling of REE has a triple challenge: economic, technological and ecological. Currently, less than 1% of REEs are recycled. What's more, extraction methods are tedious and polluting. They require several stages with acids or solvents. The discovery in 2011 of enzymes that naturally use light REE has opened up new prospects. The development of biosourced methods could be a key element in unlocking current selectivity and extraction barriers. This thesis is part of the biotechnologies of tomorrow theme. The aim of this thesis is to acquire fundamental data on the molecular mechanism of a biological system for selective TR perception in order to take advantage of it for the development of selective chelating architectures. To do this, a screen based on the use of fluorescent reporters that respond specifically to certain TRs will be used. Cell biology, biochemistry, and in silico analysis techniques using artificial intelligence tools will be used to accomplish this project. The results obtained will identify: 1) the molecular mechanism of TR detection, 2) the factors influencing selectivity, and 3) the development of selective chelating architectures based on 1) and 2).
University / doctoral school
Sciences du Vivant
Aix-Marseille Université
Thesis topic location
Site
Cadarache
Requester
Position start date
01/10/2026
Person to be contacted by the applicant
HENRY Camille
camille.henry@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/BIAM
BIAM (UMR7265), CEA-CNRS-AMU
Batiment 1900 - R+2 Room 255
Cité des Energies
13115 Saint-Paul-lès-Durance
0442254277
Tutor / Responsible thesis director
Berthomieu Catherine
catherine.berthomieu@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/BIAM//IPM
Bat 1900
CEA-Cadarache
13108 Saint Paul-lez-Durance
En savoir plus
https://www.cite-des-energies.fr/biam/recherche/ipm/