Pr Patrick du Jardin, head of laboratory, Professor
Tel : 0032 81 62 24 56
Mail : patrick.dujardin@ulg.ac.be
Patrick du Jardin graduated in Agricultural engineering in 1986 and obtained a PhD in agricultural sciences in 1990 in Gembloux. He quickly decided to dedicate his professional activity to the study of plants and to the teaching of plant biology. As head of the Plant Biology Unit of the faculty of Gembloux since 1996, he oriented the research of his team towards the physiology of plants and the exploitation of biotechnological tools in this perspective. He developed expertise on genetically modified plants and crops and has been participating for years to expert committees involved in public risk assessment, at the Belgian and european levels. He is currently vice-chair of the GMO Panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, Parma, Italy), a group of scientific experts in charge of the evaluation of the risks associated with GMOs in Europe. This multidisciplinar approach of agricultural research and technological innovation is strengthened by his participation to international committees of ethics, currently for the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (Cirad) in France. Patrick du Jardin dedicates his professional life to the sharing of his experience in plant biology and biotechnology through scientific publications, teaching, international cooperation, popularization activities and conferences in Belgium and abroad. He was dean of the faculty of Agricultural Sciences of Gembloux between 2007 and 2009.