Aurélie Bernard, Research Engineer at the CEISAM Laboratory, is an ambassador for the “Science taille XX elles” exhibition, organized in the Pays de la Loire region by CNRS Bretagne and Pays de la Loire, Le Mans Université, Nantes Université, the University of Angers, and the association Femmes & Sciences. This exhibition highlights women working in research and higher education and challenges gender stereotypes that discourage young girls from pursuing scientific careers. Researchers, PhD students, and engineers all share the same goal: to show that science is also feminine!
Here is the portrait of Aurélie Bernard, our ambassador:
As a chemical analysis engineer, Aurélie is responsible for the technical management of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) platform, which makes it possible to analyze chemical mixtures and obtain valuable information at the atomic scale. Aurélie is a rather unusual investigator: using NMR spectroscopy, she probes matter with the help of very powerful magnets. This technology, closely related to MRI, allows scientists to analyze the composition of molecular samples (blood, cell or plant extracts) by observing the magnetism of atomic nuclei. From these spectral signatures, NMR can also help identify unknown compounds. The applications are numerous in chemistry, biology, the agri-food sector, and biomedical research.
Aurélie has always been drawn to science, particularly biology and genetics. After completing a scientific high school diploma, she enrolled in a DEUG in life sciences at the Faculty of Science in Nantes. During her studies at the University Institute of Professional Studies (IUP) in chemistry and biology, she discovered NMR—“a technique I immediately fell in love with.” After spending 13 years in the Paris region, where she became head of the NMR platform at the Paris Institute of Molecular Chemistry (IPCM), she joined the CEISAM laboratory in 2020. Since then, she has ensured the proper operation and maintenance of the equipment, trained new users, and co-supervised PhD students. She also guides researchers in choosing the most appropriate analyses for their experiments. Beyond these responsibilities, she continues to explore the intimate structure of matter through collaborations between different CEISAM research teams. “The goal is to develop, in real time, a system capable of autonomously optimizing new chemical reactions—what we call flow chemistry.” Following the passing of a colleague and friend from the laboratory, she has taken over part of his work on faster, more sensitive, and less expensive analytical methods, in collaboration with two other French laboratories.
Over the course of her career, her perspective on women in science has evolved: “The higher you go in the hierarchy, the fewer women you see. It is important for young girls to realize that women can also thrive in science and contribute to scientific research just as much as men.” For Aurélie, who regularly interacts with students to introduce them to her profession, “I’m not a research star, but it is essential to show all the faces of science—from engineers to researchers!”