Our focus is low molecular weight secondary metabolites (aka specialized metabolites or natural products) that have been structurally optimized by environmental pressures over millions of years to exert particular functions and modulate chemical interactions between the host, its microbiome and the ecosystem.

Our study organisms range from marine macrophytes (seaweeds, seagrasses) to marine animals (sponges, ascidians, fish) and their associated microbiota. One major interest is the extremophilic organisms (thriving in deep-sea, hydothermal vents) that produce unprecedented chemical scaffolds as a result of their biochemical adaptations to these unique environments.

Our first major research line (marine biodiscovery/biotechnology/bioprospecting) explores the potential of such ‘designer molecules’ for discovery of new, bioactive molecules relevant for human health (e.g., as drug candidates), or for applications as agrochemicals, nutraceuticals or cosmeceuticals.

The second research line (marine chemical ecology) deals with fundamental research questions relating to the ecological roles of marine natural products, particularly in chemical defense against biofouling (e.g., seaweed or seagrass surfaces), or in the ecosystem services of organisms (e.g., seagrasses).

The tool kits we employ include computational untargeted metabolomics, environmental (exo)metabolomics, spatial metabolomics (by imaging mass spectrometry), genomics and microbiomics integrated with state-of the art marine natural product chemistry, innovative microbial culture techniques and bioactivity screening. Currently we run >70 in vitro bioassays in our labs.