TEAM & VALUES

NOVOBIOM founding team members have complementary expertises in sustainable development consultancy and biomimicry. Their past professional activities include research in the fields of Life Science & Environment, Innovation and Business Management.

Caroline Zaoui

Dr. Caroline Zaoui, CTO, is a microbiologist with a strong taste for disruptive bio-inspired innovation and environmental sustainability. As a former Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow, Caroline holds a PhD degree in microbiology from the Hannover Medical School (Germany); her previous scientific fields of investigation include bacterial cell-cell communication, expression of bacterial resistance genes to antibiotics and carbon
biosequestration. Applying bio-inspiration and her expertise to develop bioinspired carbon trapping biotechnologies during a past experience within a consultancy firm, Caroline now leads NOVOBIOM research and innovation activities as CSO and co-founder.

Jean-Michel Scheuren

Committed to sustainability since his childhood and passionate about innovation, Jean-Michel dedicates himself to the promotion and the development of bio-inspired innovative solutions.

Business engineer with an additional master in environmental science and management, Jean-Michel worked for various companies in sustainability related issues or sectors such as natural disasters, renewable energies, consulting and Biotech start-up coaching. Through his experience he gained an expertise in, business development, marketing & sales and business model design. Jean-Michel’s main role is to guide the overall management of the company.

Ilaria Chicca

Ilaria Chicca, PhD, is a researcher in biotechnology applied to environmental recovery of polluted matrices (University of Pisa). With a background in agritechnology, she then conducted research in environmental microbiology applied to the recovery of different contaminated matrices, such as soil, sediments, and wastewaters, via diverse mycoremediation approaches. As an expert in bacterial and fungal biodegradative processes on contaminated matrices, Dr Ilaria Chicca is leading the development of soil & sediments mycoremediation solutions.

Marija Stojiljković

Marija Stojiljković, PhD, is a biotechnologist specialized in the field of microbiology (KULeuven). The incredible kingdom of Fungi is her great passion and she is dedicated to exploring their endless beneficial impact on humans, ecosystems and environment. She mastered the yeast world on the aspect of beer, sourdough and bioethanol production and she has a keen interest in exploring the immense role fungi have on the environment, climate change prevention and sustainability through mycoremediation of the polluted natural resources. As a fungal fermentation expert, Dr. Marija Stojiljkovic is leading NOVOBIOM’s strain improvement program.

Maxime Dessily

Since his childhood Maxime has been inspired by the beauty of nature and the resources it provides to meet the many challenges we face. With a master’s degree in molecular biology and an additional master's degree in entrepreneurship (UCLouvain), he likes to work in all biotechnology related fields and tackle different challenges every day. With his background in industrial biotechnology, he supports the team with his technical expertise throughout projects and is in charge of setting up Novobiom’s laboratory installations.