CRETUS STAFF

Patricia Sanmartín Sánchez

Ramón y Cajal Research Fellow
Department: Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry
Centre: Biology 
Research Group: Group of Biodiversity Survey and Conservation (BiodivSC)
Phone: +34 881 814984
Email:patricia.sanmartin@usc.es
Web: Biodiversity Survey and Conservation |

I have a BSc in Chemistry (2004) and a PhD (2012, cum laude with European Doctor Mention, Extraordinary Ph.D. award and Research Prize of County Council of Pontevedra, Spain) from the USC. My major research interests include stone microbiology, biofilm at the stone/air interface, bioreceptivity and the development of innovative environmental technologies aimed at managing, assessing and mitigating natural and human impacts on stone resources.
I have obtained funds for my research through the collaboration grant-MEC (2003), Third-Cycle-Xunta de Galicia (2006), FPI-MICINN (2007), Barrié Foundation (2012), Postdoctoral mod. A-Xunta de Galicia (2013), contract for return-Xunta de Galicia (2015), Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación-MINECO (2016), postdoctoral mod. B-Xunta de Galicia (2016), an innovative Public Procurement project with European funds: Third SMARTIAGO Challenge-FEDER (2020) and Ramón y Cajal contract-AEI/MCIN (2022).
My research activity has mainly been developed at the Universities of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Alicante (2008 and 2009), Milan (2010, 2012 and 2015), Harvard (2013-2014) and Oxford (2019).

I have participated in 23 national and international projects and 47 R&D contracts signed with public or private entities. In 21 of them as principal investigator: 11 contracts with companies (the most outstanding awarded €228,072.85 with Televés company, in the framework of the ‘CromaLux’ project, 2020-2024, where I was the scientific director of the global project), 2 collaboration agreements with companies, 4 supplementary aids of my postdoctoral contracts: RyC (€42,000), JdC-inc. (€6,000), postdoc modB (€20,000), Fund. Barrié (€6,000), 1 supplementary aid of Anxo Méndez’s predoctoral contract: Industrial Doctorate GAIN-Xunta de Galicia (€30,000), 2 national projects (Generation of Knowledge 2021, ‘BIOXEN’, 2022-2026, with an amount of €121,000 and Consolidation Research 2024, ‘Green4Heritage’, 2025-2027, with an amount of €190,091) and 1 regional project (Consolidation 2022- Projects of Excellence, ‘FONTES’, 2022-2026, with an amount of €115,000) until April 2025.

I have given around 70 presentations at 50 scientific conferences in the EU and US (receiving 3 conference awards in US and Spain), have been a member of the scientific and technical committees at 10 international and 2 national congresses and meetings, co-chair of the V International Congress of Science and Technology for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage (TechnoHeritage 2024) and convener of a session on stone heritage conservation at the EGU General Assembly 2019. I have solid experience in teaching subjects related to environmental science, geology and soil science, with nearly 1000 hours of teaching at BSc and MSc levels. I have been conceded teaching merits (Quinquenios) from the University of Santiago de Compostela (01/01/2023) for the 2 five-year teaching periods completed (from 01/09/2007 to 29/04/2014 and from 30/04/2014 to 29/09/2022). In 2019, I received the I3 certificate awarded for an outstanding research track record by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and in 2021, the Ramón y Cajal contract, ranking position number four on the general list for the area of Environmental Science and Technology (CTM).

Research Lines

• Concept and evaluation of a novel public ornamental lighting, efficient, ecological and with biostatic effect (halting biological colonization by phototrophs) for architectural heritage conservation.
• Development of a biocleaning procedure for the removal of xenobiotics (synthetic resins, graffiti and bitumen) from granite rock.
• Renaturalization of a Heritage City. Search for promoters of monument bioprotection, climate resilience and urban sustainability.