Alexandre Poulain

Biography

The overarching goals of Dr. Poulain’s research are to determine how microbes interact with contaminants at the cellular level and to evaluate the consequences of these interactions at the ecosystem level. He is interested in how microbes sense and transform metals, particularly for detoxification, as well as how this information can be applied to the development of novel analytical and remediation tools. He has worked in temperate, subarctic and high Arctic ecosystems. His research lies at the intersection of biogeochemistry, molecular biology and microbiology, using combined field and lab-based approaches. His laboratory develops and uses molecular biology and biosensor bacterial tools to track the mobility and toxicity of contaminants in the environment and to evaluate how environmental stressors affect microbial communities. Ultimately his goal is to improve our understanding of the fate and toxicity of contaminants in the environment.