The PhD thesis was supervised by Anna Roig and Anna Laromaine, from the NN group at ICMAB-CSIC. The PhD Committee that evaluated the Thesis was formed by Miguel Gama, Universidade do Minho, Portugal (President), Fabiola Vilaseca Morera, Universitat de Girona (Secretary), and Carlos Albert García González, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Vocal).

Sole Roig’s PhD thesis was part of the PhD Programme in Materials Science from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).

From left to right: Miguel Gama, Anna Roig, Soledad Roig, Anna Laromaine, Fabiola Vilaseca Morera, Carlos Albert García González

Why did you choose the ICMAB for your PhD?

Because it offered an interesting project on the webpage regarding bacterial cellulose growth and functionalization.

How would you explain your research to a non-scientific audience?

I growth cellulose from bacteria instead of plants and I tried to enhance their properties with nanoparticles and structuring it to be able to create antibacterial paper, magnetic paper, UV blocking paper or to be able to use it in medical applications such as hernia reinforcement.

What are the main applications of your research? Could you give us an example?

Although the applicability is my research is very preliminary, it focuses in 3 objectives:

• Production of several BC configurations: films (with or without surface structure) that can be used for coating, wound dressing, hernia repair or microfluidics; spheres used as soft-micromotors; fibers used for reinforcement of other materials.
• Functionalization of the BC configurations creating on-demand arrangements with multiple and localized functionalities. Some of these structures have been tried in SERS, as UV and MW radiation absorbers or as micromotors.
• BC nanofibers as reinforcement of synthetic polymeric matrices such as polyacrylic acid for future uses as cartilage implants.

From the lessons learnt here, which one do you value the most?

How to transfer my knowledge to others and how to communicate efficiently.

What will you miss the most from ICMAB?

The people.

How do you think this experience will contribute to your training and to your future?

In many ways. I have learned a lot, personally and professionally.

What are your plans once you finish your PhD?

No clue.

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your PhD, that now you can recommend to the ones who are starting?

Focus on the question: What for? What do I want to achieve? With what application? And start research from that point.

Why did you become a scientist? Which have been your role models?

Because I wanted to know more about why things happen. My roles were my mother and my uncle, both chemists.

Which is your favourite female scientist? And why?

Marie Curie. She was the first female scientist I heard about and the more I read about her, the more I liked her ambition, versatility, creativity, ... At that time, she made me feel less lonely about what I wanted to do and how to do it.

Describe in 3 keywords…

• Your research: bacterial cellulose, functionalization, structuration.
• Barcelona: big, friends, expensive
• Your experience at ICMAB: awesome, short, happy

Any other comments you would like to say:

I will miss you all.

More information and photos.