Affiliation: The University of Hong Kong, School of Biological Sciences

Since obtaining his PhD degree in 2009 in microbiology from the University of Paris Sud (Orsay-France), Prof. Olivier Habimana interest in biofilmology has led him to study microbial biofilms in the context of food- and environmental microbiology, specialising in microbial ecosystems on inert surfaces, explicitly dealing with dynamics behind microbial adhesion, biofilm formation and detachment. In recent years, he has been involved in several biofilm research project initiatives to understand microbial communities' ecology, gene expression and metabolite profile within biofilms. Since 2016, his efforts have been focused on developing an experimental mixed-species biofilm model for fundamental studies targeted at characterizing the change in diversity and functions of bacterial communities and their reactivity to a host of environmental pollutants. His most recent work is among the very few in the biofilm research area, showcasing the necessity of employing multispecies models to answer fundamental questions related to a broad spectrum of treatments and different environmental scenarios. His work has been recognized internationally, as reflected by his publication record of more than 60 peer-reviewed papers in renowned journals and 2300 citations and an h-index of 25 and i10-index of 41 (Google Scholar).