Doctor Alicia Grajales Lagunes
About me
Dr. Alicia Grajales Lagunes is a Professor and Researcher at the Faculty of Chemical Sciences of the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí (UASLP), Mexico. She holds a Ph.D. in Food Science from Blaise Pascal University and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), France. Her research focuses on Food Science, Functional Foods, sustainable protein sources, food processing technologies, and innovative food ingredients. She is recognized as one of the pioneering researchers in Mexico working on edible insects and has expanded her research to alternative proteins, prebiotics, postbiotics, and the exploration of agro-industrial by-products as innovative food ingredients. Dr. Grajales has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, supervised numerous graduate students, and actively promotes international collaboration. Her current interests include sustainable food systems, food security, environmental sustainability, and the empowerment of women and young scientists through research, mentoring, and international cooperation.
Dr. Alicia Grajales Lagunes is a Professor and Researcher at the Faculty of Chemical Sciences of the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí (UASLP), Mexico, where she has been a faculty member since 2002. She holds a B.Sc. in Biochemical Engineering from the Technological Institute of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, an M.Sc. in Food Science from the Technological Institute of Veracruz, and a Ph.D. in Food Science from Blaise Pascal University in collaboration with the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), France. She also completed a sabbatical research stay at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, USA.
Dr. Grajales is a Level II National Researcher in Mexico's National System of Researchers (SNII) and holds the PRODEP Recognition. Throughout her academic career, she has made significant contributions to graduate education, curriculum development, and internationalization. She contributed to the establishment of the Master's and Ph.D. Program in Bioprocess Sciences at UASLP and currently serves as the Faculty's Coordinator for Internationalization, where she has promoted academic partnerships with universities and research institutions worldwide. She has supervised 18 graduate and 14 undergraduate theses.
Her research focuses on Food Science, Functional Foods, sustainable protein sources, food processing technologies, and innovative food ingredients. She is recognized as one of the pioneering researchers in Mexico working on edible insects, particularly escamoles (ant larvae), contributing to the development of technologies for their characterization, processing, and sustainable utilization. More recently, her research has expanded to alternative proteins, prebiotics, postbiotics, and the exploration of agro-industrial by-products as innovative food ingredients, with the aim of contributing to food security, human nutrition, and environmental sustainability.
Dr. Grajales has led research projects funded by national and international agencies. She has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific articles, five chapters, one patent, and more than 30 science outreach publications, with more than 1,500 citations (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=L5An4OcAAAAJ&hl=es). She has been invited to present her research at numerous national and international conferences. She serves on the Editorial Board of Current Nutrition & Food Science, is an Invited Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (Chile), and a Research Collaborator with AgroParisTech (France).
Her scientific achievements have been recognized through several prestigious awards, including the Mexican National Award in Food Science and Technology (2011 and 2018), the Francisco Estrada State Scientific Research Award (2008 and 2014), and the Outstanding Researcher Honorable Mention awarded by the Faculty of Chemical Sciences (2022). In the same year, she obtained an international certification in mentoring women in STEM from the British Council.
She is committed to using science to address global challenges in food security and sustainability through interdisciplinary research, international collaboration, and capacity building. Her current interests include sustainable food systems, the development of innovative food ingredients from sustainable protein sources, and science-based solutions that contribute to healthier diets, environmental sustainability, and the empowerment of women and young scientists.