Nicolas Szydlowski is a CNRS Research Fellow at the Structural and Functional Glycobiology Unit (UGSF, UMR 8576, University of Lille) and co-head of the IBSP team. His work focuses on the biology of storage polysaccharides, particularly starch, from its biosynthesis and initiation to its structure, heterogeneity, and metabolism in various physiological contexts. He completed his doctoral thesis at the University of Lille, dedicated to the study of starch synthases and the initiation of starch biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. He then carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Geneva on the long-distance transport of vitamins B1 and B6 in plants. Since 2014, he has been developing research activities centered on storage starch, mainly in potato and pea.

Throughout his career, he also worked at the UAR MSAP (Miniaturization for Synthesis, Analysis and Proteomics) and IFMAS (French Institute for Bio-based Materials), and benefited from an immersion period at the IPCM (Parisian Institute of Molecular Chemistry) as part of the CNRS Chemistry mobility program. These experiences strengthened his interest in developing interdisciplinary approaches, particularly at the interfaces between chemistry, biology, and analytical sciences, applied to the study of complex polysaccharides. His research combines functional genetics (CRISPR/Cas9), biochemistry, proteomics, metabolomics, and miniaturized analytical approaches, with a particular focus on the analysis of individual starch granules to characterize their structural and compositional heterogeneity. Within IBSP, his scientific project follows an integrative and interdisciplinary approach, aiming to link the structure, dynamics, and biological functions of storage polysaccharides, from the molecular level to those of the organ and the plant.

> nicolas.szydlowski@univ-lille.fr