David Amouroux

Responsabilities

Technical and scientific responsibilities

• Principal or partner investigator of more than 20 international projects (bilateral cooperation, EU programs) and 30 national projects (ANR, CNRS, Regional Councils).
• Expert for project evaluations for the French ANR (CESA program), CNRS (EC2CO program) and other international research funding agencies (JPI-EU, NSF-USA, NSERC-Canada, FNS-Switzerland, etc).
• Associate Editor: Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry, section: inorganic pollutants, since 2020.
• Reviewer of more than 30 journals in the areas of environmental and analytical chemistry, biogeosciences and environmental sciences.
• Member of the French Chemical Society (SCF) and the European Association of Geochemistry (EAG).
• Teaching Environmental chemistry and Biogeochemistry (since 2005), Master in Chemistry and Life Sciences, UPPA.

Administrative responsibilities

• Head of the Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology Research Unit of the IPREM (2016-2025, 32 permanent staffs, ~40 PhD students, post-docs, contract technicians).
• Nominated member of the scientific council of CNRS Ocean and Seas research network (GDR OMER, https://ocean.cnrs.fr/), since 2020.
• Nominated member of the Steering Committee of the Nouvelle Aquitaine Regional Water Research Network (R3-NAIADES, https://naiades.ensegid.fr/), since 2020.
• Nominated member of the "Inland Waters" Working Group of the ALLENVI alliance (appointed by CPU), 2018-2024.

Skills

I am an Environmental Chemist and Research Director at the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research), affiliated with the Institute of Analytical Sciences and Physical Chemistry of the Environment and Materials (IPREM, CNRS – University of Pau and the Adour Region). I was head of the Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology Unit (CME Cluster 2016-2025: 32 permanent staff and approximately 40 PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and contract technicians). I have extensive professional experience as a principal investigator or associate researcher in over 20 international projects (bilateral and European) and 30 national projects (ANR, CNRS, Regional Councils, etc.). I have supervised or directed the work of more than 20 PhD students and 20 post-doctoral researchers.

My main research areas are:

• Molecular and isotopic speciation: development of analytical and experimental methods for monitoring biogeochemical pathways.
• Biogeochemical cycles: reactivity, biotransformations, and transfer of metallic compounds (Hg) and trace elements (Se) at aquatic interfaces.

I am the author and co-author of over 250 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, 10 book chapters, 45 invited lectures, and 400 conference presentations. For more details on my publications, please consult these links:

https://cv.hal.science/david-amouroux

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Ea7rjHoAAAAJ&hl=fr

Research interests

Our main results concern the determination of the chemical forms of mercury (Hg) at the molecular level (speciation), the transformation rates of these forms in the environment or living organisms (particularly through the use of Hg-enriched isotopic tracers), the mechanisms of biotic and abiotic isotopic fractionation (natural isotopic composition), and finally, the isotopic tracing capabilities of mercury sources in the environment or any other complex system. To this end, we have also collaborated with numerous geochemists and biologists who study either the fate of trace elements at environmental interfaces in order to assess element cycle fluxes and the influence of global changes, or the impact of mercury and other metal contamination on animal or microbial populations (“eco-exposome”), and for whom the information obtained in terms of molecular or isotopic speciation is crucial (mechanistic and metabolic information).

In parallel, we study the ecodynamics of selenium (Se) in the environment (aquatic environments), a field of growing interest due to its role as an essential trace element for living organisms, as well as its potential role in combating oxidative stress and detoxifying mercury (Hg) in aquatic organisms. The molecular and isotopic interactions between mercury and Se in the environment are therefore a research focus for our team. All of these research results fall within the broader framework of the "One Health" research theme, which integrates environmental and human health.

Supervision

Supervisor and co-supervisors of Doctoral students and Post-doctoral researchers.

10 doctoral students supervised in last 6 years

6 post-doctoral researchers supervised in the last 6 years

Projects

Principal or partner investigator of more than 20 international projects (bilateral cooperation, EU programs) and 30 national projects (ANR, CNRS, Regional Councils) since 2000.

Selection of project presentations :

• LA PACHAMAMA, ANR PRC :

Lakes of the Altiplano (Bolivia): in situ exploration of the (a)biotic Processes controlling the Aquatic biogeoCHemistry of Mercury At the Molecular and Isotopic scAle. – LA PACHAMAMA

Fiche projet : https://anr.fr/Projet-ANR-13-CESA-0015

Photos : https://images.cnrs.fr/reportage-photo/rep000147

Vidéo : https://lejournal.cnrs.fr/videos/les-chasseurs-de-mercure-du-lac-titicaca

• PHYTAMBA, ANR-FNS PRCI :

Elucidating the role of phytoplankton in aquatic mercury (Hg) biotic and abiotic transformations – PHYTAMBA

Fiche projet : https://anr.fr/Projet-ANR-17-CE34-0014

• ECLAT, ANR PRC :

Processes controlling the environmental dynamics and societal impacts of Geogenic and Anthropogenic trace metals contaminants in French Guiana – ECLAT

Fiche projet : https://anr.fr/Projet-ANR-23-CE01-0029

• GMOS-Train, EU H2020 Innovative Training Network :

Global Mercury Observation System Training network

Site internet : https://www.gmos-train.eu/

Publications

Thesis

Study of the selenium biogeochemical cycle at the ocean-atmosphere interface

• Defended in 1995