Léa Braud is a PhD Researcher in the UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering. Passionate about photosynthetic organisms and their potential in the emerging biorefining industry, she recently completed a MSc in Biotechnology at AgroParisTech (France). She developed a strong interest in microalgae and wrote her master thesis at Wageningen University and Research (The Netherlands) in the Bioprocess Engineering department. She worked on microalgae cultivation for omega-3 fatty acids production in the frame of the European MAGNIFICENT project (H2020 - BBI).

Her current research is part of the European SpiralG project (H2020 - BBI) and focuses on the environmental, social, and economic impact assessment of phycocyanin production from Arthrospira platensis (i.e. Spirulina) in a concept of biorefinery. A key element of her work is to carry out Life Cycle Assessment studies on microalgae cultivation, biomass processing, biomolecules extraction, and co-products valorisation. The SpiralG project allows her to apply her knowledge and experience in microalgal biotechnology and bioprocess engineering, and to develop a strong background in LCA methodologies and their use as a tool to implement sustainable development in the bioeconomy.