I am an INRAe research scientist, trained in molecular evolution at the University of Gent in Belgium and in microbial ecology at the MBL in Woods Hole (MA, USA). I am broadly interested in how animals, bacteria and viruses interact between each other. Currently, we investigate the diversity, function, and evolutionary dynamics of microbial communities and their associated mobile genetic elements in disease vectors such as Culex mosquitoes. We use 16S amplicon sequencing, genome-resolved metagenomics together with advanced binning approaches and metatranscriptomics (following infection with arboviruses in the lab) to better understand intimate host-microbes associations and potentially develop novel vector biocontrol strategies.