Seville, November 24, 2016. Inmaculada Couso, member of the Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis (IBVF) —attached to the Isla de la Cartuja Scientific Research Center— has been awarded the 2016 Call for Proposals of the ComFuturo Program to develop her project Algal systems for CO2 capture. Interaction with metabolic and signaling pathways.
The main idea is to use microalgae for CO2 capture in a sustainable way. More specifically, during the project, the researcher will reprogram the metabolism of these microorganisms in order to select the most suitable ones for use in carbon capture in different areas.
These microalgae that use CO2 as raw material are cellular factories that produce compounds that can be used by industry to obtain energy, nutritional supplements, feed, etc. Likewise, the use of these microorganisms capable of mitigating the presence of CO2 in the atmosphere has obvious environmental implications in the fight against climate change.
ComFuturo is a social responsibility program based on the public-private alliance of the General CSIC Foundation and the CSIC with leading private entities in the country to respond to the unemployment of highly qualified young scientists.
This call has been made possible thanks to the Domingo Martínez Foundation, which will finance the researcher’s employment contract for a maximum of three years and will allocate an annual endowment of €5,000 for expenses associated with the development of the project.
Inmaculada Couso Liáñez has a degree in Biology from the University of Seville and a PhD from the University of Huelva in the area of Biochemistry and Biotechnology. She worked as a visiting researcher at the University College of London and, after completing her PhD in 2012, she began her stay at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in the USA, where she collaborated on a project to optimize the use of biofuels. In 2015, Couso joined the Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis (IBVF), in the laboratory of Dr. José Luis Crespo, where she is currently developing the ComFuturo project.
