Dr. Géraldine LE GOFF, Head of the Pilot Unit – CNRS since 2022, is a CNRS research engineer at Natural Product Chemistry Institute, ICSN (www.icsn.cnrs-gif.fr). ICSN benefit from a worldwide-recognition in the chemistry of natural compounds, including isolation, structure elucidation, bioassays and industrial valorization, from various natural bio resources (plants, marine organisms, microorganisms).
She is a specialist in Bioactive Microbial Secondary Metabolites. The Pilot-Unit is a unique R&D structure in CNRS, equipped with up-to-date pilot scale facilities in the fields of fermentation, extraction and purification of small molecules and proteins. This structure is dedicated to the discovery of drugs from microorganisms. She develops new cultivation supports and metabolite trapping strategies and technologies.
The team is now considered as a reference in the field of solid-state cultivation and solid-phase extraction. Unique pilot-scale innovative instruments were invented and built offering an exceptional support for the discovery of new families and scaffolds of natural compounds (Platotex,Unifertex, Zippertex, Somartex).
She is specialist in natural products structural elucidation (Geralcins family, Sporochartine family, Crambescins and crambescidins family). In partnership with indisputable experts, she initiated the total syntheses and the investigation of the biosynthetic gene clusters of particular families of natural compounds from actinomycetes (Geralcins).