Inventaire


Site en français

Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies


The ULB has an outstanding tradition of research in the fields of organic chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology. Back in the 1940's, Jean Brachet (1909-1988), one of the discoverers of RNA, and with him the whole ''Groupe du Rouge-Cloître'', played a major global role in the molecular biology revolution. Working at the ULB, this outstanding phalanx trained generations of researchers at the highest level, as evidenced by the number of ULB professors awarded Francqui Prizes by international juries. The current upholders of this tradition are studying the role played by genes and their expression mechanisms, with a special focus on regulatory cascades. This work is helping us to gain a better understanding of cell physiology (whether in bacteria, yeasts, parasites or mammals), embryo development, and certain infectious diseases such as the AIDS HIV virus or that of bovine leukaemia. Technologies using molecular biology are omnipresent throughout the ULB in all life science fields. They are used extensively for research in the fields of oncology, immunology, neuroscience, genetics, but also in agronomics, for studying evolution or animal communities. ULB researchers rely on technological platforms equipped with the latest facilities and operated by highly skilled staff, especially on the campus of the Erasmus teaching hospital in Brussels and at the Biopark Charleroi Brussels South.


Molecular Synthesis, Materials, Energy Engineering


Contributing to economic development and improving the living conditions of our fellow citizens and mankind in general, working with a view to sustainability, respecting the planet's limited resources and taking care to bequeath to future generations a better-balanced world - these are the challenges that engineering and applied physics and chemistry are increasingly having to face up to. At the ULB, several well-endowed teams are working on developing new materials meeting up to sustainable development requirements, with a particular focus of different surface treatments, research into ''smart'' materials, organic polymers or LCD semiconductors. In the energy field, key to sustainable development, research is focused on developing such renewable energy forms as photovoltaics, wind turbines and biomass, optimising the generation of traditional energy forms, and problems associated to transport and energy consumption. The optimisation of industrial processes, in particular the study of catalysis, and the problems involved in sustainable construction are at the heart of a wide range of research efforts. One of the drivers of this research at the ULB is the collaboration with the theoretical teams, whether in physics, chemistry, nanoscience or mathematical modelling. Such research is often conducted in collaboration with companies, and benefits from substantial funding from the regional authorities of Brussels and Wallonia (in particular the GreenWin, Mecatech and Skywin Business Development Clusters), and from EU funding (framework programmes). Outcomes include the filing of patents and the creation of spin-off companies.