The 2020 Bettencourt Prize for Young Researchers was awarded to Benoit de Pins, a post-doctoral student in biochemistry, for his research on a key photosynthesis enzyme, RuBisCO.

Climate change: biochemistry at the planet's bedside

What is the connection between biochemistry, cellular metabolism and ecology? Benoit de Pins found it by studying an enzyme that produces organic matter. He is particularly interested in RuBisCO, a key photosynthetic enzyme that allows plants to create their own organic matter by fixing carbon in the air.During his post-doctorate, Dr. de Pins will search for the most effective RuBisCO and develop biological synthesis models to simulate its evolution and find the best optimization.

His post-doctoral project at the Weizmann Institute of Science is a unique opportunity to combine a computational and experimental approach to meet the challenge of metabolic engineering for the benefit of the planet. From a sustainable development angle, the results of his work could benefit agriculture and the production of biofuels.

"After focusing on neurological diseases, I want to get involved in fighting our planet’s ills." Benoit de Pins

Benoit de Pins in a few words

Benoit de Pins specializes in neuroscience and biochemistry. He has a degree in biochemistry and biological engineering from the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan. His PhD on neuronal signaling pathways in pathological contexts highlighted the key role of tyrosine kinases enzymes in Alzheimer's disease.

Then he began working on a project with an environmental dimension. In his post-doctorate work, he will use his biochemistry skills to explore an enzyme whose kinetic particularities are still poorly known. By trying to understand how plants and certain bacteria create their own organic matter by fixing carbon in the air, he hopes to develop a career studying and engineering metabolic systems to work on a new generation of renewable energy.

Bettencourt Prize for Young Researchers

Created in 1990, the Bettencourt Prize for Young Researchers is one of the first initiatives of the Fondation Bettencourt Schueller. Until 2021, this prize was awarded each year to 14 young doctors of science or doctors of medicine, to enable them to carry out their post-doctoral stay in the best foreign laboratories. 349 young researchers were distinguished. The prize endowment was €25,000.

All the award-winners