Cristina Chairez Jiménez, currently in her third year of a Ph.D. in Biotechnology at Tecnologico de Monterrey, holds an undergraduate degree in Agro-Industrial Engineering from Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes. Selected twice for Summer Science programs at the Mexican Academy of Sciences, she conducted research at CINVESTAV-QRO and Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon. She pursued an MSc in Biotechnology at Tecnologico de Monterrey, focusing on the structural modification of plant proteins for improved food ingredient functionality. Cristina spent seven years in the food industry, developing flour-based products and functional beverages. Her Ph.D. research aims to develop a process to extract and modify canola protein from canola meal, an oil-extraction industry byproduct, for use in the food industry. Currently, she's working in the Food Proteins and Bioproducts Lab at the University of Manitoba, studying potential applications for canola protein, courtesy of a won fellowship.