Pierre Amato

Pierre Amato is a Researcher (CNRS CRCN) at the Institut de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand, Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA), with a HDR in Atmospheric Microbiology. He leads research on microbial biodiversity and activity in the atmosphere, including aerosols, clouds, and precipitation. His work focuses on understanding microbial survival, metabolism, and interactions with atmospheric processes like cloud chemistry and bioprecipitation. He has coordinated major projects such as the ANR METACLOUD (2019-2023) and edited influential works like Microbiology of Aerosols (Wiley, 2017).

Research interests include microbial structural and functional diversity, environmental drivers of activity, and methodological advancements in air sampling and omics techniques. He serves as an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Microbiology and Aerobiologia, and chairs the CNRS EC2CO MICROBIOME evaluation committee. Ongoing projects involve cloud water chemistry, antibiotic resistance gene dispersal, and atmospheric microbiome dynamics.

Key contributions include demonstrating cloud environments as 'oases' for microbial activity, quantifying biological ice nucleation, and developing high-throughput sampling methods. His lab's interdisciplinary approach integrates molecular profiling, enzymatic assays, and computational tools to study airborne microorganisms' ecological roles and atmospheric impacts.