Cristina comes from Ecuador where she started her Science journey at ESPE University studying Plant Biotechnology. After a few years of working as Laboratory Manager on an in vitro Laboratory, she enrolled the Biobased Sciences program at Wageningen University (WUR). In this program, she joined the Karlova group evaluating the effect of algae biostimulants and growth-promoting bacteria in the response of plants under abiotic stresses (salinity and drought).

Now, she is part of a collaborative work between Bioprocess Engineer and Plant Physiology Department at WUR. Cristina is a PhD in context of the EU project REALM Algae, which aims to develop biostimulants in a sustainable way by efficiently growing microalgae in hydroponic drain water. Cristina’s research project focuses on finding the best biostimulant strains of microalgae, optimizing the extraction of the bioactive components and understanding how this molecules increase tolerance and resilience to abiotic stresses in tomato. When she is not doing science, she is improving her photography skills, dancing or travelling.