Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell

Stéphane Abel

We are particularly sad to announce the death of our colleague Stéphane Abel, which occurred on Monday March 13, 2023.

Since 2003, Stéphane worked with M. Marchi in B. Robert’s team, first during his PhD, then as a Marie Curie post-doc. He was recruited by the CEA in 2008 as a researcher, obtained his “Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches” at Université Paris-Saclay in 2017, and was recently promoted to “Directeur de Recherches” by the CEA.

S. Abel was interested in multi-scale modelling and molecular dynamics simulations of biological processes. He developed and used atomistic and coarse-grained molecular dynamics to study the stability and function of membrane proteins in different environments (normal phase or reverse micelles, or phospholipid membranes). He also used quantum mechanical approaches to develop force field parameters for biomolecules and, in particular, the detergents used in membrane protein experiments.

In addition to his qualities as a researcher, Stéphane was an extremely endearing character. This little man suffered from a serious brittle bone disease, and his life was undoubtedly a long struggle – but Stéphane was never bitter. He had a sunny disposition, joyful and mischievous, and was never heard to complain. He had a sharp sense of humour that he often turned against himself, and he was of a constant and deep kindness.

He leaves a great void for all those who knew him and in particular for the computational biology community in which he was respected and loved.

Our thoughts go to his closest colleagues and particularly to his family.