My current research sits at the intersection of plant science, agronomy, and sustainable agriculture. I co-lead the PEPA Lab (Plant Ecology, ecoPhysiology and sustainable Agriculture) at UCLouvain, where a team of 37 researchers investigates how plants grow and respond to environmental stresses, and how agricultural systems can be designed for long-term robustness.
Our work is rooted in both the field and the lab. We study the hidden world of plant root systems (their structure, hydraulics, and function) to understand how crops access water under drought. Combining field phenotyping, on-farm experimentation, and computational modelling, we bridge scales from root anatomy to cropping systems, with a strong focus on cereals and market gardening.
Beyond fundamental research, we are deeply committed to translating scientific knowledge into actionable outcomes for farmers and society. We develop open-source tools, participate in community-driven projects on sustainable farming in Wallonia, and actively engage with field practitioners. We believe that a just and ecologically sustainable food system requires embedding research in the realities of the field.
Plant Direct
Academic Editor for the open-access / preprint friendly / sound science / society journal Plant Direct.
GigaScience
Invited Guest Editor for the Plant Phenomics serie from the open-acces journal GigaScience
PLoS One
Invited Guest Editor for the Plant Phenomics and Precision Agriculture series from the open-acces journal PLoS One
Since 2008, I have performed reviews for the dozen of journals. However, since 2021, I decided to decline reviewing duties for for-profit journal and editors and focus my free work on non-profit and/or community journals. These are the ones listed below.
Plant Physiology, New Phytologist, GigaScience, PLoS One, Journal of Experimental Botany, Annals of Botany, Plant Direct, in silico Plants
Co-organiser