SCIENTIFIC
COMMITTEE
of +Brócoli
Information, to be truthful, must be technically endorsed.
The +Brocoli Association has a Scientific Committee that was established in 2020 with the aim of being an advisory team for the Association in various fields such as Agricultural Sciences, Food Technology, Research, Nutrition, and Food. It is a multidisciplinary team that will support the scientific foundation and assist in all the Association’s activities.
The Committee
Dra. Micaela Carvajal Alcaraz
President
She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biology in 1989 and a Ph.D. in 1992 from the University of Murcia. In 1991, she completed a master’s degree in Science and Technology of Water. She undertook a two-year postdoctoral stay in the United Kingdom. Since 1998, she has been a staff member at CEBAS-CSIC, and since 2009, she has held the position of Research Professor. She established the Aquaporins research group in 2012.
Throughout her research career, she has authored 125 SCI publications. She has led 32 research projects, supervised 12 doctoral theses, and received 5 awards. Regarding technology transfer activities, she holds 4 licensed patents and has created 2 CSIC Spin-Offs.
Her research experience with broccoli focuses on studying the optimization of water and nutrient absorption by plants, using aquaporins as markers for resistance to environmental stresses, and determining the water needs of broccoli in response to climate change.
Dr. Diego A. Moreno Fernández
Secretary
Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Granada (2000), specializing in Plant Physiology.
Postdoctoral researcher in the USA (Rutgers University – The State University of New Jersey, 2001-2004) and reintegrated into CEBAS-CSIC (I3P postdoctoral 2005, Ramón y Cajal 2006), where he obtained a position as a Scientific Officer (2008) and more recently as a Scientific Researcher in OPIs (2018) at CEBAS-CSIC, in the Department of Science and Technology of Food, Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Healthy Foods, with Prof. Dra. Cristina García-Viguera.
His research experience focuses on plant foods, bioactive compounds (phytochemicals) and nutrients, evaluation, and optimization of agronomic conditions to obtain foods enriched in bioactive compounds, and the influence of domestic and industrial processing on the composition and quality of foods.
Dra. M. Carmen Martínez Ballesta
Member
Graduated in Biochemistry in 1998, completed her Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 2002 from the University of Murcia. From 2002 to 2004, she conducted a two-year postdoctoral stay at the University of Leipzig (Germany). From 2004 to 2019, she was employed by CEBAS-CSIC.
Throughout her research career, she has achieved: 62 scientific articles, of which 59 publications are in the SCI, 9 works of scientific dissemination, and 20 book chapters. She holds 3 internationally licensed patents, along with the creation of 2 CSIC spin-offs. She has participated in 20 research projects, led 2 as the principal investigator, and co-supervised 5 doctoral theses, master’s theses, and undergraduate theses.
Since 2019, she has been a Professor at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) in the Plant Production group, and since June 2020, she has been part of the management team of the ETSIA as the Deputy Director of Quality. She specializes in genomics and proteomics of water transporters and compounds from the secondary metabolism of brassicas (glucosinolates). She collaborates with companies in the plant nutrition sector to optimize the use of bio-fertilizers and organic fertilizers in various crops, including broccoli, studying their effects on soil and the transport of water and nutrients in plants.
Dra. Gloria Bárzana González
Member
Graduated in Biology in 2007, Master’s in Agricultural Biology in 2008, and Ph.D. in 2014 from the University of Granada. In 2013, she collaborated with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India. After 5 years working with private sector companies, she resumed her scientific career in 2019 in the Aquaporins Group at CEBAS-CSIC.
Since the beginning of her research career, she has focused on understanding the molecular basis for better crop performance and quality, promoting sustainable agriculture. Her comprehensive studies have always centered on the molecular biology research of aquaporins as markers in plant improvement. Currently, she is studying the molecular characterization of broccoli in relation to physiopathies.
As of today, she has 9 SCI publications, supervises several university students in their final projects, and a doctoral thesis. She has collaborated on 9 research projects and has extensive experience in the agricultural sector, understanding the challenges faced by agriculture today.
Dra. Paula Periago Bayonas
Member
Paula M. Periago Bayonas, Professor at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT), affiliated with the Department of Agricultural Engineering. She holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine and a Ph.D. from the University of Murcia (1998). She has undertaken research stays in different foreign research centers (ATO-DLO and Wageningen University in the Netherlands, Institute of Food Research in the UK) for a total of 33 months. Her research focuses on Microbiological Food Safety to ensure the microbiological quality of food and, consequently, consumer health.
Dra. Cristina García Viguera
Member
Cristina García-Viguera, Research Professor at CSIC, holds a degree in Pharmacy from the Complutense University of Madrid and a Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences from the University of Murcia (1991). She has worked in various foreign centers (University of Oxford, Institute of Food Research, and University of Reading in the UK; ATO-DLO in the Netherlands, among others). Currently, she is the head of the research group at the Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Healthy Foods (LabFAS) in the Department of Science and Technology of Food at CEBAS-CSIC (Murcia). Her research focuses on the design of new plant-based foods, covering aspects from agriculture to health, combining science and knowledge transfer. She is included in the top 20 ranking of researchers in the area of Food and Health in Spain.
Victoria Rodríguez Moldenhauer
Member
Pharmacy Degree. Bachelor’s Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Specialization in Physical Exercise and Training. Postgraduate: Expert in Nutrition and Dietary Planning.
Experience with patients in both pharmaceutical care and nutritional planning. Her professional goal is nutritional reeducation by fostering sustainable habit changes over time, considering emotions, lifestyle, and the patient’s pathologies or health issues, thus improving their quality of life.
Creator of the blog “Pasas y Pistachos,” she is active on social media and currently combines her work as a pharmacist with nutritional planning and education.
Dr. Raúl Dominguez Perles
Member
Raúl Domínguez-Perles holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Murcia (2001) and a Ph.D. in Agri-Food Resources and Technologies from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (2011). He conducts his research at the Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Healthy Foods (LabFAS) in the Department of Food Technology at CEBAS-CSIC, Murcia. He previously conducted research in the field of biomedical research and immunomodulated processes at the Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospitals in Murcia and Sant Pau in Barcelona.
After completing his predoctoral stage in 2011, he embarked on an international postdoctoral stay at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Vila Real, Portugal) for about 4 years. There, he advanced in the study of phytochemical compounds in agri-food industry by-products. Currently, his research focuses on the biological interest of bioactive compounds present in foods and plant by-products in relation to oxidative stress and inflammatory processes, with special attention to inflammatory bowel disease. These objectives, including the characterization of plant material in relation to its content of bioactive compounds and the analysis of its bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and biological activity, are addressed through the development and application of targeted metabolomic techniques and in vitro and in vivo physiopathological models (pre-clinical and clinical).
Sonia Medina Escudero
Member
Sonia Medina Escudero holds a degree in Biology from the University of Murcia (2007) and a Ph.D. in Agri-Food Resources and Technologies from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (2012). She currently conducts her research at the Department of Food Science and Technology at CEBAS-CSIC, Murcia. After completing her doctorate and a brief national postdoctoral stay, she worked in various foreign research centers (Corporación Universitaria Lasallista in Colombia and the University of Madeira in Portugal) for about 3 years.
In her current role at the Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Healthy Foods (LabFAS) at CEBAS-CSIC, she has developed an independent research line complementary to those present in the institution. Her research focuses on the study of derivatives of (poly)phenols formed as a result of their esterification with fatty acids or alcohols (lipophenols). These lipophenols represent a new generation of bioactive compounds present in plant-based foods and their by-products. These compounds confer superior and differentiated quality to such foods, closely related to their effect on health based on their enhanced capacity to modulate oxidative stress and the generation of proinflammatory molecules compared to non-esterified phenolic compounds. This research line is supported by the development of targeted and non-targeted -omics techniques (metabolomics) that allow the identification and characterization of these compounds in food matrices and newly developed ingredients, as well as the study of their biological effects, contributing to establishing the food-health relationship.