Group

Charlène Brissaud obtained a double Bachelor's degree in Physics and Chemistry, followed by a M.Sc. in Materials Chemistry, all from Université Paris Cité in France. In 2024, she completed her Ph.D. on the development of self-assembled plasmonic supercrystals and their application as photocatalysts at the same University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of nanochemistry, plasmonics and catalysis. Since she joined the In Situ Nanochemistry group in 2025, she has been working on the development of plasmonic metasurfaces, specifically focusing on the in situ growth of metallic nanoparticles controlled by electrochemical methods. Her work involves optimizing synthetic conditions by correlating chemical, optical, and electrochemical parameters, as well as characterizing the optical properties of the metamaterials.

Gail obtained her PhD in Materials Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. As a scholar (I-LINK2020) in international collaboration, she developed in situ growth strategies for the fabrication of high-quality plasmonic arrays.

Leonardo is an inorganic chemist and materials scientist that began his scientific journey at the University of Pavia (Italy). After completing his master’s degree, Leonardo followed his love for nanosynthesis to San Sebastian (Spain), where he joined the group of Prof. Liz-Marzán and completed his PhD in July 2016. As a PhD and postdoctoral trainee, Leonardo was able to visit various countries and experience different cultures, traveling across Europe and the US. In 2024, after 3 years of postdoc at UCLA and an additional 3 years as a Junior Leader at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona, the project NANOGROWDIRECT was funded by the European Research Council, leading to the creation of the NanoOddLAB as part of the Department of Chemistry and Engineering of Processes and Resources at the University of Cantabria. When he is not in the lab, Leonardo is a father, an avid climber, and enjoys hiking, cooking, and playing music

Marta Norah Sanz Ortiz DPTO. DE QUIMICA E INGENIERIA DE PROCESOS Y RECURSOS.

Martina Lonza received her B. Sc. in Industrial Engineering in 2020 and her M.Sc. in Materials Engineering in 2023, both from the University of Trieste. She's currently involved as a PhD student in a project carried out as a collaboration between BioNanoPlasmonic Lab lead by Luis Liz-Marzán at CIC biomaGUNE and Leonardo Scarabelli at University of Cantabria. Her research is focused on the in-situ synthesis of complex gold nanostructures for the realization of a microfluidic SERS-based biosensor.

Nabil completed his master's thesis under the supervision of Dr. Leonardo Scarabelli and Alberto Pérez. His thesis focused on colloidal synthesis and self-assembly featuring a silica shell for the fabrication of photonic structures. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD at the IMDEA Institute in Madrid (Juan José Vilatela García's group).

Nineli Abramidze Kublashvili received her Bachelor’s degree in Physics in 2023 from the University of Cantabria and her inter-university Master’s degree in New Materials in 2024, between the Universities of the Basque Country and Cantabria. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. as part of the NANOGROWTHDIRECT project under the supervision of Leonardo Scarabelli at the University of Cantabria. Her research focuses on the development of substrates based on 2D and conductive materials.

I am Noemi Ghelardini, a 24-year-old master's student in Chemistry. My scientific journey began in Volterra, my hometown, where I pursued a science-focused high school diploma. I later earned my Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Florence, where I developed a thesis on Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for TNF-alpha detection using PDA, PNE, and PSE. Currently, I am completing my master's thesis at the University of Pavia, where I am synthesizing silver nanoparticles functionalized with four different proteins, as well as palladium nanocubes functionalized with a single protein, to study their optical properties.

Oriol completed his bachelor's thesis in nanotechnology (Universdad Autonoma de Barcelona) under the supervision of Dr. Leonardo Scarabelli. His research focused on the co-assembly of gold silver colloids into plasmonic nanoarrays, their post-modification, and the characterization of resulting optical properties.

Pau obtained his bachelor’s degree in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in 2023 and his master’s degree in Advanced Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in 2024, both from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He is currently pursuing his PhD at the NanoOddLab at the University of Cantabria under the supervision of Prof. Leonardo Scarabelli. His research focuses on exploring new strategies for the in-situ growth of nanoparticles using electromagnetic radiation to fabricate plasmonic devices.

Pau obtained his bachelor’s degree in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in 2023 and his master’s degree in Advanced Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in 2024, both from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He is currently pursuing his PhD at the NanoOddLab at the University of Cantabria under the supervision of Prof. Leonardo Scarabelli. His research focuses on exploring new strategies for the in-situ growth of nanoparticles using electromagnetic radiation to fabricate plasmonic devices.

Serena Schiavi was born in Milano, Italy. In 2020 she received her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and in 2022 she received her Master's degree at the University of Pavia. Serena is currently a 3rd year PhD student in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Industrial Innovation at the University of Pavia under the supervision of Prof. Angelo Taglietti. Her research is focused on the development of novel strategies to prepare noble-metal nanoparticles-based devices exploiting Raman and SERS for sensing applications of emerging pollutants.

Serni completed his bachelor's program with a degree in physics and chemistry at the Autonoma de Barcelona under the supervision of Leonardo Scarabelli and Dr. Agustín Mihi. During his thesis, Serni explored the tandem templated self-assembly of gold of different sizes. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD at EPFL in Lausanne (Harald Brune's group).

I am Simone Ventisette, a second-year PhD student in Chemical Sciences at the University of Florence. My research focuses on developing molecularly imprinted biopolymers (MIPNEs) derived from polynorepinephrine. These cost-effective materials are designed for protein recognition, with applications in bioanalytical assays and receptor mimics. My work integrates these biopolymers with Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and Fiber-Optic Bio-Layer Interferometry (BLI) to enhance protein detection. Additionally, I am exploring their potential in drug delivery systems and other biomedical applications.

Ylli received her PhD working on the fabrication and characterization of plasmonic devices operating in the weak and strong-coupling regime. Specifically, she explored the use of plasmonic colloids for the fabrication of plasmo-photonic hybrid devices with applications in advanced light-matter interactions and photocatalysis. Before joining the group, she obtained her master's degree from the University of Calabria, under the supervision of Dr. Giovanna and Prof. Antonio de Luca.