Directory

ABELLAN Patricia

CNRS Research Associate

Position:

Since 2020 CNRS Researcher (CR CNRS), IMN, CNRS

Form positions:

2019 -2020 Research Scientist CDD in Materials Chem.(Next Junior Talent Chair), IMN, CNRS
2015 – 2019 Staff Research Scientist, SuperSTEM Laboratory, EPSRC National Research Centre for Advanced Electron Microscopy, UK
2015 – 2019 SuperSTEM research fellow, University of Leeds, UK
2012 – 2014 Postdoctoral Researcher, Pacific Northwest National Laboratoy, USA
2011 – 2012 Postdoctoral Researcher, University of California-Davis, USA

Main research topics:

Solid-liquid interfaces on hybrid and biomaterials probed using electron microscopy;
The development and application of new electron microscopy methods for properties-structure relationship of beam sensitive materials and radiolysis quantification in the electron microscope.

Biography:

Patricia Abellan is a CNRS researcher at the Institute of Materials of Nantes (IMN) Jean Rouxel, Nantes University, since 2019. She received her BSc in Physics from the Aalborg University (Denmark) and her Ph.D. in Materials Sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Spain, in 2011. She has held postdoctoral positions at the University of California – Davis and at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA, before taking a staff research scientist position at the SuperSTEM Laboratory (Daresbury, UK) in 2015. Her research focuses on the study of solid-liquid interfaces on hybrid and biomaterials using electron microscopy as well as on the elucidation of the radiation chemistry and radiation physics driving the processes at liquid-solid interfaces induced by the electron beam in an electron microscope. In 2013 she received the Best Ph.D. Thesis Award from the SME, in 2019 she was the laureate of the NExT Junior Talent program and in 2023 she won an European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant. She has given over 35 invited presentations at international conferences and academic institutions on the development and application of electron microscopy methods.

Current research projects

Osteocytes extracellular vesicles cargos: a new approach for regenerative medicine of bone tissue (OVERbone), ANR PRC (ANR-20-CE18-0015); national collaborative project (2 partners), 505.3k€ (149k€ for WP2), 2021-2025, Role: WP2 leader
Dosimetry of Ultra-High Dose-Rate Electron Beams at Solid-Water Interfaces in Electron Microscopy: A Key Advance in Hydrated Samples Research (DREAM-SWIM), HORIZON-ERC CoG (project 101124066); individual project, 2.1 M€, 2024-2029, Role: PI
Intensified PRocess coupling reaction and separation using Enzymes-functionalized Membranes for the recovery of bIomolecUles from Microalgae (PREMIUM), ANR PRCI (ANR-23-CE51-0059); international collaborative project (3 partners), 700k€ (207.7k€ for WP), 2024-2026, Role: Co-PI
OPerando analyses and modelling of INterface dynamics and CHARGE transport in lithium-ion batteries (OPINCHARGE), HORIZON-RIA, (HORIZONCL5-2022-D2-01; proposal 101104032); international collaborative project (10 partners), 5.7 M€ (710 k€ for WP), 2023-2026, Role: Partner/Participant

Activities in the research community

Member of the French microscopy society (SFmu), French BIOMAT, Spanish microscopy society (SME), European Microsc. Society (EMS), Microscopy society of America (MSA)
Member of the Proposal Review Panel of the European Research Infrastructure ReMAde@ARI project, since 2025
Member of organization committee of the annual congress of l’association française des biomatériaux (BIOMAT) 2026
Member of the Access Committee (AC) of the Spanish ELECMI (elecmi.es), since 2022
Member of the Transnational Access proposal evaluation committee (TAPEC) in the European ESTEEM3 project, 2022-2023
Member of the panel of independent experts of the French METSA research federation, since 2022
Member of the Editorial Board of the journal Micron, Elsevier, since 2019
Member of CINT External Proposal Review Board, DOE Center for Integrated Nanotechnol. Sandia National Laboratories, since 2018
Guest editor (managing editor) of Special Issue in Liquid-phase EM in Micron
Member of Scientific proposal internal review panel, EPSRC SuperSTEM Lab, 2015-2017
Symposium organizer at major international conferences including European-Materials research society (E-MRS) 2019 Fall Meeting, Warsaw, Poland; EUROMAT 2021, Graz, Austria (virtual conference); Microscopy & Microanalysis (Portland 2019 and Minneapolis 2023) and Colloque SFµ 2023, SDM2: In Situ, operando, Rouen, France
Discussion leader (2), Gordon Research conferences (GRC) on liquid-phase EM, 2020 & 2024, Italy
Panel Discussion at Biophysics & Physical Microscopy conference 2023, Institute of Physics, London
Keynote speaker, 19th International Microscopy Congress 2018, Sydney, Australia
o Session chair at international conferences, including Microscopy & Microanalysis 2017, 2019 and 2023, E-MRS 2018 and 2019 Fall meetings, GRC on liquid phase EM 2020 and 2024, EUROMAT 2021, Colloque SFµ 2023
Program chair Pre-meeting congress on radiation beam damage, prior to Microscopy and Microanalysis 2017, 70 participants, St. Louis, USA and Third Virtual workshop of MaterialWell (2022)
42 invited talks at international conferences (31) and research/academic institutions (11)
Member of PhD thesis jury (2), University of Basque Country, CIC NanoGUNE 2025 and CEA-Leti at the University of Grenoble Alpes 2021
Co-organizer of the physics of materials and nanostructures (PMN) group scientific seminars, since January 2021
Member of jury for best student presentation awards at international conferences, including symposium L in E-MRS 2018 Fall meeting, conference MMC2019 and GRD NanOperando 2019
Member of local organization team: 7th biennial SuperSTEM Summer School, 2018, UK

Distinction:

2013 Best Ph.D. Thesis in Materials Science Award (biennial 2011-2012). Awarded by the Microscopy Society of Spain (SME)

Patent:

Nanoparticles, Methods for Producing Nanoparticles and Nanoparticle Generators. J.W. Grate, N.D. Browning, P. Abellan, U.S. patent number 10500228 filed in 26/04/2017, published in 10/12/2019