About Carine
Carine Vergne-Vaxelaire obtained her PhD in chemistry in 2006 at the University of Paris-Saclay (France), where she worked on the isolation and biomimetic synthesis of key nitrogen-containing natural products from marine sponges — an early indication that exploring unusual environments would become a recurring theme in her career.
After one year as a medicinal chemist at Servier (France), she shifted from classical synthetic chemistry to enzymes, joining in 2007 the Research Unit of Genoscope at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Since then, she has been mining biodiversity genomes with the enthusiasm of a scientific treasure hunter, uncovering native enzymes and exploring their synthetic potential.
Over the years, she has developed strong expertise at the interface of chemistry, enzymology, sustainable chemistry, and bioinformatics. She currently leads and contributes to interdisciplinary projects, with a particular focus on her ever-fascinating amine dehydrogenases.
Curious by nature, she is driven by the same enthusiasm in science as in life: exploring the unknown — from mountain summits to ocean depths. Deeply attached to her native Auvergne and Corrèze, she also nurtures her creativity through cooking, painting, and sculpting — perhaps another way of combining elements and discovering what might emerge.