Valérie Gabelica

Valérie Gabelica is a Belgian chemist and research director known for her work in mass spectrometry as applied to nucleic acids, particularly DNA and RNA. She has served as a research director at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) and has held leadership positions at institutions including the European Institute of Chemistry and Biology (IECB) and, as of 2024, the University of Geneva. Her research combines analytical chemistry, biophysics, and structural biology to develop methods for probing the structure and interactions of nucleic acids. She was awarded the Liliane Bettencourt Prize for Life Sciences in 2021 by the Foundation Bettencourt Schueller. Gabelica's scientific contributions have been discussed in independent institutional contexts, specifically her development of innovative mass spectrometry techniques.

Early life and education Valérie Gabelica earned her doctorate (PhD) in sciences in 2002 from the University of Liège in Belgium, where she applied mass spectrometry to the analysis of structural modifications in nucleic acids.

Research career

In 2013 Gabelica moved to France to join the Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie (IECB) in Pessac, supported by the ATIP-Avenir program. She became a research director at INSERM and led a team within the laboratory “Acides nucléiques: régulations naturelles et artificielles”. Her team's innovations in combining mass spectrometry with complementary analytical approaches have generated discussion within the biophysical and analytical chemistry communities.

Awards and honours Liliane Bettencourt Prize for Life Sciences (2021) – awarded by the Fondation Bettencourt Schueller for her contributions to life sciences research, particularly in nucleic acid analysis.

Impact and recognition Gabelica's work has been cited for its influence on analytical chemistry and structural biology, highlighting the use of her techniques to understand fundamental nucleic acid processes that are relevant to gene expression and potential therapeutic strategies. The innovations have helped challenge traditional interpretations of mass spectrometry data and assisted the scientific community's approach to biomolecular analysis.