ˈeɪbəl wʌz ˈɛdʒuːkˌeɪɾᵻd æt sənt dʒˈɑːnz kˈɑːlɪdʒ, kˈeɪmbɹɪdʒ, ɡˈeɪnɪŋ æn bˈætʃəlɚɹ ʌv ˈɑːɹts dᵻɡɹˈiː ɪn nˈætʃɚɹəl sˈaɪənsᵻz ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti nˈaɪn fˈɑːloʊd baɪ pˌiːˈeɪtʃ dˈiː ɔnðə tˈɑːpɪk ʌv pˌɑːlɪkˈɛɾaɪd bˌaɪoʊsˈɪnθəsˌɪs fɔːɹ ɹᵻsˈɜːtʃ sˈuːpɚvˌaɪzd baɪ dʒˈeɪmz stˈɔːntən ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi tˈuː.
Abell was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, gaining an Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Sciences in 1979 followed by PhD on the topic of polyketide biosynthesis for research supervised by James Staunton in 1982.