Speaker Profiles
Dr. Sekazi Mtingwa
Professor Mtingwa is a distinguished physicist who has held several major roles including Visiting Professor of Physics at Harvard University and MIT, Senior Physicist Consultant to Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics at North Carolina A&T State University. Professor Mtingwa has made many major contributions to accelerator, nuclear and high energy physics over the past 30+ years. The theory of intrabeam scattering that he developed with Dr. James Bjorken sets the limitation on the performance of practically all modern intense particle accelerators and was crucial in many scientific discoveries, such as the top quark at Fermilab and long-sought Higgs particle at CERN. For their work, they shared with Anton Piwinski of Germany the 2017 American Physical Society’s Robert R. Wilson Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Physics of Particle Accelerators. He has been a national leader in promoting nuclear science and engineering education for which he received the American Nuclear Society’s 2015 Distinguished Service Award and has served for many years as advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear energy R&D program. He is President of INCREASE, which is a consortium of Minority-Serving Institutions, and has made many important contributions to science and technology development in Africa, including being a co-founder and current advisor to the African Laser Centre, a former board member of the Saltpond Redevelopment Institute, co-author of the Strategic Plan submitted to the government of South Africa on behalf of its synchrotron science community, co-author of the design for the new Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology in Tanzania, and member of the founding Steering Committee of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)-Ghana. In other international work, he is the Former Chair of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics C13 Commission on Physics for Development and Chair of the Executive Committee of the Light Sources for Africa, the Americas, Asia and Middle East Project (LAAAMP), which enhances advanced light source science in those regions.
Dr. Camilo Delgado Correal
Physicist and Master of Science – Astronomy from the National University of Colombia, PhD in Physics with emphasis in Observational Cosmology from the University of Ferrara (Italy). Areas of interest: Science, Technology and Innovation Policies, epistemology of physics, observational cosmology, astronomy outreach, classical physics, relativistic astrophysics, galaxy spectroscopy, gravitational lensing, galaxy evolution, optical studies of galaxy clusters, dark matter. Current Position: Professor, Universidad Distrital FJC and has worked as scientific coordinator and astronomy leader at the Planetarium of Bogotá and Science and Technology Manager in Basic and Space Sciences at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Colombia.
Dr. Hernan Garrido Vertel
Physicist from the University of Córdoba, Colombia. Master in Science-Astronomy from the National Astronomical Observatory – National University of Colombia, PhD in Physics from the University of Concepción, Chile, was Post-Doctoral Research Scientist at the University of São Paulo-Brazil. He works as a full time professor at the Department of Physics and Electronics of the University of Cordoba, Colombia and develops research in the area of stellar astrophysics, the study of the evolution of massive stars, accretion disks, double periodic variable stars, observational astronomy in the optical and infrared.
Dr. Qun Shen
Deputy Director for Science, National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) and Senior Physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Prof Shen oversees the development and strategic planning of the scientific programs at NSLS-II, including interactions with the broad scientific user community, development of high-level user access policies and user community partnerships, as well as spearheading the annual NSLS-II strategic plan process. From 2008 to 2013, Prof Qun Shen served as the NSLS-II Experimental Facilities Director and a member of the executive leadership team during the construction phase of NSLS-II and was responsible for development of all aspects of experimental programs in the NSLS-II Project. Before joining BNL, Prof Qun Shen was Head of the X-ray Microscopy and Imaging Group at the Advanced Photon Source in Argonne National Laboratory. He also held Adjunct Professorships in Materials Science & Engineering at Northwestern University and in Physics at Purdue University. Prior to Argonne, he was a Senior Staff Scientist and Head of the X-ray Optics Group at Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source and held an Adjunct Associate Professor in Materials Science & Engineering at Cornell University. Prof Qun Shen was a Scientific Member and Developer during the early stages of the Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation Collaborative Access Team (SRI-CAT) at the APS, with the particular emphasis on X-ray physics of materials and polarization studies.
Dr. Sanjit Ghose
XPD Lead Beamline Scientist, Hard X-ray Scattering & Spectroscopy Program, National Synchrotron Light Source II. Dr. Ghose’s current interests focus on studying in-situ structure property relationship of new materials (Solid Oxides and Ceramics, Metal Organic Frameworks, Metal doped Semiconductors, New Battery Electrode Materials, Nanomaterials & Quantum Dots) from synthesis and processing to their applications. These research interests are served by the development and commissioning of the beamline 28ID with high energy, high flux and high-resolution X-rays. He is currently focused on the development and implementation of various experimental capabilities in line with NSLS II strategic plans and in collaboration with external users. The capabilities includes but not limited to: in-situ & fast diffraction, scattering and imaging techniques (XRD, PDF, SAXS, XRD-CT), various sample environments (High Temperature Cells, Liquid & Gas Flow Reactors and Cells, Electromagnetic Wave assisted growth and processing reactors, Moderate pressure gas & liquid cells), inline optical spectroscopy (UV-Vis-NIR absorption and fluorescence, Emission and Life Time), data collection & reduction protocols (high throughput, AI & ML based autonomous experiments).
Dr. Chithra Karunakaran
Agricultural Engineer and Manager of Environmental and Earth Sciences, Canadian Light Source (CLS), Canada – The CLS in Agriculture and Environmental Related Applications. Dr. Karunakaran is a professional agricultural engineer by training for 18 years. At the Canadian Light Source (CLS), she started as a scientist with the primary responsibility to manage and operate one of the world’s leading soft X-ray spectromicroscopy beamline. She is currently the manager for the Environmental and Earth Sciences group of beamlines at the CLS and leader of the “Agriculture Innovation Research Program” from November 2013 to show the novelties of using synchrotron techniques for agricultural and food sciences research. Dr. Karunakaran is also an adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan and at the University of Manitoba participating in scientific research and teaching courses. She is an international visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology, India
Dr. Marvadeen Singh-Wilmot
Senior Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry and Associate Dean for Student Experience, Faculty of Science and Technology, The University of the West Indies Mona. Dr. Singh-Wilmot has a passion for science and is committed to the promotion of science as a tool for development. She is an appointed member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists (IUPAC) Committee for Ethics, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (CEDEI). She is a member of The Young Affiliate Network (TYAN) of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and board member and former head of the Caribbean Academy of Sciences Jamaica Chapter (CASJ). Dr. Singh-Wilmot is a strong advocate for science diplomacy to build capacity in scientists, diplomats and policy makers to interface and use science as a tool for driving international cooperation to address key challenges facing the world. As such, she has completed the AAAS-TWAS Course on Science Diplomacy in 2022 and participated in S4D4C Networking Meetings that focused on Science Diplomacy.
Dr. Singh-Wilmot’s is a beamline user whose research is based on the synthesis, characterisation, sensing, and storage applications of lanthanide metal-organic frameworks (LnMOFs). She uses X-ray diffraction as a major characterisation tool for her LnMOF materials and in 2019 benefitted from a LAAAMP FAST team award to NSLS II at the Brookhaven to study crystal growth of LnMOF materials.
Dr. Zeyar Min
Head of Division, Research Development and Consultancy, Lecturer of Chemistry at University of Technology (UTECH), Jamaica. Dr. Min specializes in chemistry and management and is regarded for his expertise in materials science, working in the design, synthesis, and applications of hybrid organic -inorganic materials. Through innovative and proactive approaches, he is charged with establishing new research projects and collaborations, all while enhancing research culture and fostering meaningful partnerships with public and private sector entities. Dr. Min is dedicated to excellence in the field of chemistry and aims to inspire and motivate students and colleagues alike. Dr. Min is a beamline user who has done research at NSLS II, Brookhaven National Laboratory in 2019, where he did research on the growth of lanthanide metal-organic framework materials using X-ray diffraction.
Dr. Richard Taylor
Senior Lecturer, Inorganic Materials Chemistry, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. Dr. Taylor is currently Lecturer in Materials Chemistry at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus (UWI STA). His main areas of research focus are in Optoelectronic Materials for potential applications in electronic devices, including, Liquid Crystals, Semiconductor Thin Films and Nanomaterials and Luminescent Metal-organic Frameworks. He is very much committed to the development of Science (and by extension Technology) in the Caribbean and engages in work involved in the promotion of such, for example through CARISCIENCE, where he is Executive Secretary and spearheaded the mounting of the first “International Symposium on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology” at UWI STA in July 2014. Dr. Taylor is a beamline user who has done research at National Synchrotron Light Sources II, Brookhaven National Laboratory in 2017, where he did research on dynamics of molecular structural ordering of novel liquid crystals using X-ray diffraction. He has also conducted experimental research on chalcogenide semiconductor thin films for solar cell applications at the Centre for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National laboratory in 2018.
Dr. Jean-Pierre Mfuamba Mulumba
Dr. Gaston Garbarino
Dr Gaston Garbarino obtained his PhD from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2005. His scientific activity is focused on the study of the interaction between the crystal structure and the electronic properties of superconductors and compounds with charge density wave under pressure and at low temperature. He obtained a postdoctoral position at the CRTBT, CNRS in Grenoble until 2007, followed by a postdoctoral and a scientific position at the ESRF, European synchrotron, in a beamline dedicated to X ray diffraction under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature in the period 2007-2015. As of that date, he is “Beamline operator manager” of both beamlines dedicated to diffraction under extreme conditions at the ESRF and he is responsible of the high pressure laboratory. Since 1999, he study condensed matter systems under high pressure as a function of temperature. In recent years, he has also studied alkali metals, metallic glasses and nanomaterials using X-ray diffraction, resistivity measurements, X-ray absorption, inelastic diffusion and Raman spectroscopy under high pressure. He is member of the Management Committee of the “Réseau de technologie des hautes pressions” of the CNRS and he has been a Management Committee member of the “European High Pressure Research Group” from 2014 to 2017. He actively participates in peer review processes of journals such as PRB, PRL, Nat. Comm, among others and project financing processes of the Agence National de la Recherche, European Research Council, US Department of Energy-Office of Science.
Dra. Gema Martínez-Criado
Gema Martínez-Criado studied physics at the University of Havana in Cuba and holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Valencia, Spain. In 2002, she joined the ESRF as a post-doctoral researcher on hard X-ray microscopy. She was subsequently appointed to the position of second scientist at the ESRF hard X-ray microprobe beamline ID22. In 2009, she was named ESRF permanent scientist in charge of the beamline ID22. As part of the ESRF Upgrade Programme Phase I, from 2009 to 2014, she was involved in the design and construction of the hard X-ray Nanoprobe ID16B for X-ray nanoanalysis as scientist in charge of the beamline. In 2016, Gema moved to the Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), where she held the position of senior scientist. Gema’s research explores fundamental and application-oriented aspects of condensed matter using hard X-ray micro and nanobeams. She has more than 100 publications to her name as well as several book chapters and reviews. Gema returned to the ESRF on 1st January 2022 as Director of Research for Condensed Matter and Physical and Material Sciences.
Dr. João Elias Figueiredo Soares Rodrigues
Currently, He has a post-doc scientific position at the beamline MSPD of the ALBA Synchrotron Light Source (Barcelona, Spain). He has obtained a PhD degree in Applied Physics at University of São Paulo (2017), master degree (2012), and bachelor (2010) in Physics at Federal University of Maranhão. He was visiting scholar fellow at the Instituto de Ciencias de Materiales de Madrid (2018-2020) at the Jose Antonio Alonso’s laboratory. From 2020-2023, He had a post-doc scientific position at the beamlines ID24/BM23 of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF, Grenoble, FR). His research program is focused on high-pressure synthesis and characterization of novel energy materials for mainly thermoelectric applications. Other research activity in the field of high-pressure synthesis includes transition metal oxides with unusual electronic and magnetic properties. General research interest is in materials physics, including vibrational spectroscopy, electrical and magnetic characterization, and structural modeling. He is a frequent user of synchrotron and neutrons techniques (X-ray and neutron diffraction, X-ray absorption) applied to the determination of crystal and local atomic properties of different materials. He has more than 50 articles with more than 480 citations.
Dr. Juan Ángel Sans Tresserras
Juan Ángel Sans Tresserras performed his studies in Physics at the University of Valencia, where he obtained the PhD in this field thanks to an FPI Spanish fellowship. He joined the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in 20007, thanks to the collaborations established there he was awarded with the Group Achievement Award in 2013 by NASA.
He came back to the University of Valencia at the beginning of 2011 as the responsible for an Infrared spectroscopy facility under the MALTA-Consolider program, until he was hired by the Technical University of Valencia by means of a Juan de la Cierva contract in 2012, which he linked with a prestigious Ramon y Cajal Fellowship in 2016 until he become Senior Lecturer in that university in 2021. During this period, he has been leader of three national projects, the last of them, being the coordinator of a coordinated project involving four institutions. He has received also the BBVA-RSEF award received in 2019 by the “Mejor artículo de enseñanza en las publicaciones de la RSEF” and the award in the Scientific Dissemination Innovation in 2022 by the UPV. He has published more than 115 scientific articles in indexed journals (Science, Nature Communications, Nano Letters…etc) and participated in more than 30 funded synchrotron experiments, with the publication of 9 highlights at the ESRF and the Spanish ALBA synchrotron.
Dr. Oscar Roberto Blanco Garcia
Electronic engineer from the National University of Colombia, with a master’s degree in physics from the National University of Colombia and a PhD in physics from the University Paris XI. Since 2009 dedicated to the design of accelerators and the study of particle beam dynamics. I have worked at the Linear Accelerator Laboratory (LAL) in France, in collaboration with CERN and the High Energy Research Center (KEK) in Japan. Winner of the ‘fellow for non Italian citizens 2006’ of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Italy. Recently working at the Soleil synchrotron on the accelerator renovation project.
Dr. Alison Gajadhar
Dr. Alison Gajadhar, Managing Director of KMA Consulting Ltd, Saint Lucia. Dr. Gajadhar, a Management Systems Consultant, enjoys working with leaders, executive teams, and boards to implement improvement initiatives. She is passionate about effective organizational performance through engaged people and flexible structures and systems. Alison is a firm believer that while sustainable organizational success requires an adequate supportive external facilitatory environment, it can only be realized through strong organizational governance and a systems approach to management. Considered to be one of the pioneers in the promotion of standardization and quality within the OECS sub–region, Dr. Gajadhar offers consultancy services through her boutique firm, KMA Consulting Ltd., in the areas of strategy development, governance and management systems, quality infrastructure, research, policy development and adaptation planning.
Dr. Gajadhar is a Chartered Director, with a Ph.D. in Chemistry, a Graduate Diploma in Law, and advanced certification in Quality Management and Productivity, as well as Project Management.
Dr. Robert Blyth
Dr. Robert Blyth, CLS Science Projects Manager. Dr. Blyth is the Science Projects Manager at Canadian Light Source Inc., with responsibility for upgrades and additions to the experimental facilities.
Dr. Blyth’s scientific career has focused on novel materials, ranging from rare-earth metals to organic LEDs, with over 100 publications in that field.
Dr. Victor M. Castaño
Victor M. Castaño received M.Sc and Ph.D. degrees from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and spent 2 years as a postdosctoral fellow at IBM´s Thomas J. Watson Research Center (New York). He has authored and co-authored over 800 peer-review papers, is member of the Editorial Board of over 40 international journals and has received several awards in Mexico, the US and Europe. His interests are in the area of Materials Science and Applied Physics, particularly in developing nano-sized materials for a number of uses, including water treatment technologies and nanomedicine. He is full-professor and founding Director at the Centro de Fisica Aplicada y Tecnologia Avanzada (CFATA) of the UNAM. His work has received over 19,000 citations and is one of the most cited Latinamerican scientists in his area.
Dr. Diana Bedolla
Dr. Diana Bedolla moved from Mexico to Trieste after graduating in Physics in the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, with an ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics) scholarship for a two-year master’s degree in complex systems. Her first interaction with synchrotron was with a TRIL (Training and Research in an Italian Laboratory) programme, that funded a year of research between SISSA (International School for Advanced Studies) and Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste. Her studies continued with a PhD in neuroscience at SISSA which directed her research towards synchrotron techniques applied to a combination of applications (from X-rays to IR) concerning biology, chemistry, material sciences, medicine, and since then practiced at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste (also thanks to UniTS and Area Science Park) and in other laboratories around the world. Her next adventure will consist of managing a project that she conceived and formulated. The project obtained the Marie Slodowska Curie funding for three years to study frontotemporal dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases through vibrational spectroscopy, by establishing a collaboration also with ICGEB (International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology) and Monash University (Melbourne, Australia).
Currently, she works at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste as a postdoc scientist of Area Science Park, at the SISSI-Bio beamline where she studies scientific questions (mainly biological) with infrared spectroscopy. In addition to planning and carrying out her personal research, she also collaborates with users to define and optimize their scientific questions to be submitted to Elettra as a proposal, to then organize and carry out the experiments and analyse, publish and disseminate the scientific results. During her scientific career she has published more than 40 peer-reviewed articles and recently was awarded by the Consulate of Mexico in Milan, the “Mexicanos Distinguidos 2022” award.
Dr. Frederico Albarse
Currently engaged as Beamline Scientist from the Elettra Synchrotron Radiation Facility of Trieste/ Italy, where he conducts his own research (Pressure induced transition in materials with nanoconfined guest molecules) at Xpress; a beamline dedicated to diffraction at extreme conditions of pressure and temperature. At Elettra (since 2017), he leads the projects of technological development of the beamline, such as powder and single crystal diffraction under high pressure (up to megabar pressures) along with variable temperatures from few to several hundred Kelvins. Recently, he joined the Elettra’s upgrade program, Elettra 2.0, which main goal is to reach an even brighter and coherent synchrotron radiation source.
Previously (2014-2017), Dr. Alabarse researched in the field of neutron scattering measurements under extreme conditions at the Institut de Mineralogie, Physique des Materiaux et Cosmochimie of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Sorbonne Universités Paris), for which he was recruited by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), a research in collaboration with Institut Laue-Langevin neutron source (Grenoble). Research for which he obtained a technological development grant (CNRS) for the implementation of a pioneer heating system applied to high pressure cells.
Dr. Hiram Castillo Michel
Permanent scientist at beamline ID21 at ESRF, a beamline specialized in elemental bio-imaging and speciation through the use of XRF microscopy and X-ray Absorption spectroscopy.
Using ID21 and other beamlines at ESRF to detect and characterize nanomaterials at the tissue and cellular level in living organisms (microbes, plants, animal and human tissues) and other complex environmental samples. In the last 10 years involved in the development of sample preparation methods for biological samples, data analysis strategies and recently leading the upgrade program of ID21 that will deliver a new microscope at ID21.
Research interests: Application of synchrotron µXRF/µXANES and µFTIR for the study of the distribution and biochemical modification of trace elements and nanomaterials in biological samples. In particular, I am interested in the fate and transport of nanomaterials and potentially toxic elements in plants. Since plants are part of the first level in the food chain, they are a main route of entrance of toxic elements in the food chain. These toxic elements and nanomaterials are environmental stressors at the tissue and cellular level, disrupting important biochemical functions in living organisms. The specific localization and chemical form of these stressors at the tissue and subcellular level are the main objects of my research.
Dr. Vivian Stojanoff
Vivian Stojanoff is a Physicist at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) overseeing the User, Training and Outreach Program of the Center of Biomolecular Structure (CBMS). She has a broad multi–disciplinary background, with specific training in physics, material sciences, and x–ray crystallography. She has long standing experience with synchrotron light applications more specifically with methods and techniques that allow macromolecular structure determination. Her research focus on the development of new methods in protein crystallography and imaging applications. At BNL she managed the X6A beam line at the National Synchrotron Light Source developing several outreach and training programs with the support and collaboration from academia and corporative scientists. Before coming to BNL she was a beam line scientist at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble France. She earned her PhD in Physics from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Vivian has mentored over 100 students, from high–school students to post doctoral fellows. She actively collaborates with the Office of Educational Program (Brookhaven National Laboratory, in the Student Partnerships for Advanced Research and Knowledge (SPARK). A year round program SPARK provides opportunities to high school teachers and their students to become visiting researchers at BNL scientific facilities. Several of the students in the program continued their research as undergraduate students under her mentorship, with their work being published in scientific journals.
Dr. Carlos Rudamas
Dr. Carlos Rudamas is a Professor of Physics at the University of El Salvador (UES) in Central America. He studied physics in El Salvador (University of El Salvador), Germany (University of Bremen and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen), France (École Normal Supérieure in Paris and the University of Strasbourg) and Spain (Materials Science Institute and Applied Physics Department of the University of Valencia). Dr. Rudamas and his research group, working at the Optical Spectroscopy Laboratory at the School of Physics (UES), are conducting experimental as well as theoretical research applying optical spectroscopy techniques in condensed matter physics, environmental physics and biophysics, namely, the optical properties of semiconductor and carbon-graphene nanostructures and thin films, atmospheric pollution, the optical properties of human tissues and mycorrhizal structures, for environmental friendly and non-invasive applications.
Professor Galileo Violini
Physicist. Graduated at the University of Rome (now La Sapienza University). Former professor of Mathematical Methods of Physics at the Universities of Rome and Calabria and at the University of Los Andes. Co-founder and Director (now Emeritus) of the International Physics Center of Bogota. John Wheatley Award of the American Physical Society, Abdus Salam Spirit Award of the International Center for Theoretical Physics “Abdus Salam”. Outstanding Salvadorean Recognition from the Government of El Salvador. Honorary member of the Colombian Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences. Former Director of a European Union program for the Faculty of Sciences of the University of El Salvador. Former UNESCO Representative to Islamic Republic of Iran and Director of Tehran Office. Doctor Honoris Causa of the Ricardo Palma University of Lima, Consultant to the Governments of Guatemala and the Dominican Republic and to UNESCO, CSUCA, ICTP and other national and international organizations. Author of some three hundred publications on Science Policy, Theoretical Physics and Science Education. Co-chair Executive Committee of the Greater Caribbean Light Source Initiative.
Dr. Harry Westfahl Jr.
Harry Westfahl Jr. has been Director of LNLS since 2020. He has also served as LNLS’s Scientific Director from 2013 to 2019, as Deputy Scientific Director from 2011 to 2012, and as a researcher since 2001, when he joined the Laboratory after three years of postdoctoral research. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and at the DOE Ames Laboratory in the United States. Since 2013, he has been coordinating the design and construction of the beamlines for the new Brazilian synchrotron light source, Sirius. His main research interests are in the physics of condensed matter systems, the use of synchrotron radiation to study materials, mainly polymers and magnetic materials, and the development of instrumentation for synchrotron radiation.
B.Sc. in Physics, 1994, State University of Campinas (IFGW/Unicamp), Brazil.
PhD in Physics, 1998, State University of Campinas (IFGW/Unicamp), Brazil.
Dr. Catalin Popescu
Experimental beamline scientist with more than 10 years experience in synchrotron instrumentation, user support and the study of phases transformations and phase diagrams on wide range of materials from minerals to materials for energy.
I got my PhD in materials science at the University of Paris XI where I focused on XRD and absorption studies on materials for energy. Currently, I am working as scientist staff at Alba Synchrotron in Spain where I am in charge of high-pressure program.
Dr. Samuel Gallego
Dr Samuel Gallego Parra completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Extremadura (Badajoz) in 2013. During his studies, he was involved in synthesizing new photocatalysts based on BiOI to remove polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from water. In 2015, he moved to Valencia to pursue his Master’s Degree in Materials Engineering, Science Processing, and Characterisation, at the Technical University of Valencia. After finishing his Master´s Degree he started his PhD, funded by the Spanish FPI fellowship. He focused his PhD research on high-pressure studies of sesquichacolgenides, using techniques such as X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. As a result, he became a frequent user of the ALBA synchrotron carrying out high-pressure X-ray diffraction measurements at the beamline BL04-MSPD. Furthermore, in 2021 and 2022, he undertook internships at the beamlines ID16B and BL04-MSPD, at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF, Grenoble, France) and ALBA synchrotron, respectively. After he obtained his PhD degree in 2022, he recently joined the ESRF as a post-doctoral researcher at beamline ID15B, specialized in high-resolution X-ray diffraction measurements at extreme conditions, high pressure combined with high or low temperatures.
Dra. Mayra Cuéllar Cruz
Prof. Dr. Mayra Cuéllar-Cruz is a graduate in Chemistry from the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo. MSc is in Sciences, specialized in Biochemistry by the CINVESTAV (the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute – Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Avanzados del Institution Politécnico Nacional). PhD in Sciences with specialty in Molecular Biology from the IPICyT (Potosi Institute of Scientific and Technological Investigation (Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, Mexico) since 2009. She is currently a faculty and Researcher at the University of Guanajuato. Member of the National System of Researchers level 2 (SNI – Sistema Nacional de Investigadores). Dr. Cuéllar- Cruz has published more than 58 research papers in indexed journals with strict review. She has written chapters of books and registered few patents related to biomedical applications and crystal growth methods. Currently, she is Topic Editor for the CRYSTALS Journal of the MDPI (Switzerland) and scientific reviewer for various important indexed journals. Dr. Cuéllar-Cruz is the founder and current President of the Mexican Society of Synchrotron Light, A.C. She served as General Coordinator of the Theme Network of Users of Synchrotron Light (REDTULS) of CONACyT. Currently she is also the vicePresident of the Mexican Society of Crystallography, A.C. She has used various radiation synchrotron techniques in her research. She has supervised a total of 12 undergraduate theses, 8 Master’s, and 3 doctorates. Her teaching activities include undergraduate courses in Biology, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemical Biology, and postgraduate teaching in Biology (Master’s and Doctorate level).
Dr. Cuéllar-Cruz is an expert in the development of vaccines and is currently working on a vaccine against the opportunistic human pathogen fungus Candida. She has developed various research lines, these are oxidative stress, biofilms. She is a pioneer in the identification of dual function and location of proteins, and in the formation of nanocrystals of various species of Candida. She has also begun a research into the chemical origin of life.