Professor Dr. Jean-Michel Mérillon received his M.Pharm. (1979) and Ph.D. (1984) from the University of Tours, France. He joined the University of Tours as an Assistant Professor in 1981 and became an Associate Professor in 1987. In 1993 he moved to the faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Bordeaux (France), accepting a position as full professor. He has been the director of the research group on biologically active plant substances for over 15 years, at the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences (University of Bordeaux, France), which comprises 25 scientists and research students. The group has been working on phenolic compounds from vine and wine for many years, mainly complex stilbenes and their involvement in health. He is involved in developing teaching on plant biology, natural bioactive compounds, and biotechnology. Prof. Mérillon has published more than 190 research papers in internationally recognized journals, and has co-edited books and reference works on secondary metabolites and biotechnology. In 2004, he founded the technology transfer unit “Polyphenols Biotech,” providing support for R&D programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and major groups from the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and health-nutrition sectors. He is currently the manager of this unit.Professor Dr. Céline Rivière is Professor of pharmacognosy at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lille and is currently conducting research within the research unit BioEcoAgro (UMRt 1158). After obtaining a doctorate in pharmacy in 2003, she completed a Ph.D. in Drug Science at the University of Lille in 2005. From 2007 to 2008, she carried out postdoctoral research at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). She joined the University of Bordeaux as an Associate Professor in 2008 in the team of Prof. Jean-Michel Mérillon (ISVV). In 2011, she returned to the University of Lille where she set up a research program on the medicinal chemistry of Humulus lupulus and its role in combatting bacterial resistance. In parallel, she has developed a project on phytochemical diversity and the antiviral activities of halophytes against hepatitis C virus. Her ongoing research is focused on two aspects with several fundings: (1) plant species as source of bioactive molecules against the coronaviruses and other viruses in collaboration with the Lille Infection and Immunity Center (UMR9017, U1019) and the team UMR CNRS 7042-LIMA from the University of Strasbourg; (2) chemical and genetic diversity of wild hops from northern France: varietal development and pharmaceutical, agri-food, and agricultural assessments. Since 2016, she has also played a role in the working group on herbal food supplements (“GT Plantes”) within the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES). She represented France at the Phytochemical Society of Europe (PSE) from 2013 to 2017, she organized the PSE young scientists meeting in 2017, and she is currently PSE meeting secretary. She is also involved in the AFERP (French Association for Research and Teaching in Pharmacognosy) committee. Céline has written more than 50 research articles in internationally renowned journals and she has previously co-published a book on natural antimicrobial agents with Pr. Jean-Michel Mérillon.Dr. Gabriel Lefèvre is an ethnobotanist at the University of Lille (France) where he became interested in plants with antimicrobial activities, funded by an ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche [en France] [French National Research Agency]) project involving the UMRt BioEcoAgro, the Lille Infection and Immunity Center (UMR9017, U1019), and a CNRS team from the University of Strasbourg (UMR CNRS 7042-LIMA). He is now particularly interested in regional plants such as hop by carrying out a study of old and wild varieties as part of FEADER (Fonds Européen Agricole pour le Développement Rural [European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development]) funding. The project includes the establishment of an experimental hop farm and brewing with wild hops, and their organoleptic testing with a view to identifying new varieties. He previously completed a Ph.D. on the medicinal plants of Madagascar at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales and pursued this theme during a Marie Curie post-doctorate in medical anthropology at the University of Oxford which led to the publication of a reference work published by L’Harmattan, entitled “Médecine traditionnelle à Madagascar, les motsplantes à Toliara.” He has also contributed to other editorial projects in ethnobotany and to the conceptualization of popularization science exhibitions.
