François Maillard

Welcome to my website. I am François Maillard, a forest microbiologist and microbial ecologist. I earned my PhD in forest biology and ecology from INRAE in France, under the supervision of Marc Buée, in 2018. Following this, I spent three years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Minnesota, USA, mentored by Jonathan Schilling and Peter Kennedy. As of Fall 2022, I conduct my research at Lund University, Sweden, within the group led by Dimitrios Floudas and Anders Tunlid.

My research primarily focuses on identifying and characterizing the fungal processes that drive forest ecosystems, their impacts on forest functions and services, and how they respond to climate change. This information will enhance forest management practices and contribute to effective conservation strategies.

Fungi in forests play a pivotal role, serving as critical links between two essential ecosystem services—forest productivity and soil carbon sequestration. In the face of ongoing climate change, it is crucial to understand these fungal processes. My research employs techniques from both microbial ecology and microbiology to identify key fungal species involved in these processes, and their genetic mechanisms. I utilize methods such as metabarcoding of microbial markers, genomics, and transcriptomics.

I also leverage hybrid techniques to create a more robust link between field and lab findings within a unified research framework. These techniques include metatranscriptomics, stable isotope probing of DNA, and soil microfluidic chips. By merging these various methodologies, I aim to identify key fungal-driven forest processes, the fungal taxa involved, their related genetic mechanisms, and their evolutionary history. Ultimately, integrating these microbial aspects should enhance the biogeochemical models of forest carbon and nutrient cycles.