Fitxa persona

María Carmen Coll Merino holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Valencia (UV, 2003) and a PhD in Chemistry from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV, 2010). Her doctoral thesis, focused on the development of silica-based hybrid materials for colorimetric detection and remediation of environmentally relevant ions (such as anionic surfactants and long-chain carboxylates), received the honorary mention “Extraordinary Thesis Award” from UPV in 2012.

Later, as a junior postdoctoral researcher at the CIBER Center for Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), she carried out pioneering research on new molecular gates for biomedical applications and controlled drug delivery. In recent years, her research has focused on the design of silica-based hybrid materials for molecule detection, the development of controlled drug release systems, and advanced biomedical applications such as glioblastoma treatment.

Currently, she is a professor in the Department of Organic Chemistry at UV (since September 2025) and a member of the MODeLiC research group at the Interuniversity Institute for Molecular Recognition and Technological Development (IDM UV-UPV).

She has held highly relevant positions, including obtaining a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Trinity College Dublin (2016–2018). She has led projects funded by the Generalitat Valenciana and UPV, participated in the European H2020 NANOTUN3D project, and completed research stays at institutions such as Biopolis S.L. (using C. elegans as an animal model) and the Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia.

She is co-author of 34 publications in high-impact international journals (such as Angewandte Chemie, Chem. Commun., Advanced Functional Materials, and Accounts of Chemical Research), with over 1,770 citations and an h-index of 21. In addition, she is the inventor of two patents and has participated in 16 research projects (2 European, 6 national, 4 regional, and in 4 in university).

In the teaching field, she has solid experience in Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Biophysics at undergraduate and master’s levels, having supervised one doctoral thesis, three master’s theses, and numerous final degree projects. Her career has been recognized with positive evaluations by AVAP for teaching positions and with two research periods awarded by CNEAI.