DC6 - Saeed Salehi

Fellow Presentation :

I am Saeed Salehi, a PhD student in the FAIROmics project, with my research jointly hosted by the Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering (Bio2Eng) group at IIM-CSIC in Spain, and the Chemical & Biochemical Process Technology & Control (BioTeC+) group at KU Leuven in Belgium. My academic journey began with a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering, followed by an M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering-Biotechnology. My master’s thesis focused on optimising culture media for probiotic production using a systems biology approach, which allowed me to gain hands-on experience in advanced computational strategies for microbial process optimisation.

With over three years of experience as an R&D Engineer in the starter culture and probiotics industry, I have focused on designing and optimising bioprocesses for microbial production. This role allowed me to apply my academic foundation in chemical engineering and computational biology to real-world challenges, refining fermentation processes and enhancing microbial viability. This opportunity broadened my knowledge of the field and fueled my passion for utilising computational tools to address complex bioprocess challenges.

As part of the FAIROmics project, my research aims to address key challenges in modelling microbial communities by developing advanced theoretical methods and software tools. This includes creating novel identifiability analysis methods specific to ecological models and designing optimal experimental design (OED) strategies that account for biological variability. By integrating ecological and coarse-grained models with identifiability and OED concepts, I aim to define dynamic models capable of characterising interactions within microbial communities. The resulting methodologies will be tested using data from previous and parallel studies conducted under FAIROmics and will be released as open-source tools.

What excites me most about this project is its interdisciplinary nature and its potential to contribute to sustainable food production. The collaboration across top-tier institutions and the integration of computational and experimental methods offer a unique opportunity to create meaningful scientific advancements.