Vincent Lafaquière

Vincent Lafaquière is a research scientist affiliated with Université de Toulouse and its associated institutions including INSA, UPS, INP, and the joint LISBP laboratory (CNRS/INRA). His work sits at the intersection of biochemistry, protein engineering, and computational biology.

His research focuses on enzyme engineering, particularly the rational modification of lipases for improved enantioselectivity. By targeting specific residues in the substrate binding site and access channel of Burkholderia cepacia lipase, his team has developed mutants with dramatically enhanced catalytic properties. This work combines site-directed mutagenesis, high-throughput screening, and computational trajectory analysis to optimize biocatalysts for chiral synthesis applications.

Lafaquière's publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to the field of biocatalysis, with his most notable work showing a 15-fold increase in specific activity and significant improvements in enantioselectivity through strategic protein engineering. His research has direct applications in pharmaceutical synthesis where chiral purity is critical.

He operates within the collaborative ecosystem of LISBP, a major French research unit specializing in biological systems and processes engineering. His work benefits from interdisciplinary connections between biochemists, computational scientists, and process engineers working on enzyme applications.