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Trip to Toulouse - cohort 5

Visit at Toulouse Biotechnology Institute (TBI) and Toulouse White Biotechnology (TWB) – A dive into the biotech innovation and transfer process.

Sun and warm weather were there this year for the ritual trip to Toulouse of the AgroParisTech M2 BEB cohort, accompanied by Stéphanie BAUMBERGER, Bioceb and M2 BEB coordinator, and Claire BARANGER, Microbiology teacher-researcher at AgroParisTech.

After a first day of free exploration of the “Pink city” and a friendly dinner altogether, the second day was dedicated to the visit of Toulouse Biotechnology Institute (TBI) and Toulouse White Biotechnology (TWB) on the campus of National Institutes of Science and Technology (INSA Toulouse).

Day 1 friendly dinner in the historical city center and The Garonne River by night

These two visits illustrated the continuum between fundamental research and industrial innovation in white biotechnologies, with the discovery of some research teams, clusters of facilities (ex. IBISBA European infrastructure dedicated to industrial biotechnologies, so-called “white biotechnologies”) and local technical platforms (ex. MetaToul-FluxoMet).

Roundtable and TBI presentation by Claire DUMON, INRAE Research Director in the team “Enzymatic Catalysis and Molecular Engineering”

Through the visits, the students were presented with high-resolution equipment (Mass Spectrometry and NMR), along with automated platforms and techniques for high-throughput screening. They realised the cost of data production and the importance of their management and reuse. Moreover, they broadened their professional network and made contacts for future internships, PhD theses, or other projects.

Presentation of the MetaToul-FluxoMet technical platform by Hanna KULYK-BARBIER, CNRS Engineer. The platform provides researchers with a wide range of up-to-date tools in metabolmics and fluxomics for the investigation of microbial metabolism.
Presentation of the IBISBA infrastructure by Michael O’DONOHUE, INRAE Research Director serving as the Acting Director. IBISBA is a pan-European research infrastructure dedicated to Industrial Biotechnology (https://ibisba.eu/).
Presentation of his PhD thesis project by Iker PARDO LARRABEITI (AgroParisTech alumnus, Ph.D Student in the Catalysis and Enzyme Molecular Engineering Team of TBI)

As for the previous Bioceb editions, the trip inspired enthusiasm among the students. Many thanks to all the staff who contributed to its success.

Presentation of TWB and group pictures

Updated February 2026