From a young age, I have been driven by a deep scientific curiosity. Whether experimenting with my mother’s cosmetics or exploring my grandmother’s plants, I was always eager to understand how things worked. This passion led me to engage in a degree in teaching chemistry at Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas in Bogotá (Colombia). During my studies, I not only searched into the fundamentals of chemistry but also engaged in discussions about innovative ways to teach science in schools and diverse communities across Colombia.

My scientific journey has since taken me across the globe. In Brazil, I completed my master’s and doctoral studies, focusing on advanced water treatment technologies. At Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa (UEPG), I specialized in oxidation/reduction processes for degrading dyes in water. Later, at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in Porto Alegre, my doctoral research concentrated on the degradation of pharmaceutical compounds in real hospital wastewater using solar processes, complemented by the identification of transformation products via high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). These studies culminated in achieving the label “International PhD on Advanced Oxidation Processes”.

In my postdoctoral work, I have advanced research in electrochemistry for the degradation of persistent pollutants, particularly PFAS, while developing innovative electrodes to enhance electrooxidation processes. My dedication to this field has been recognized with prestigious scholarships, including the Juan de la Cierva Fellowship in Spain and the Marie Curie Fellowship at the European level. These opportunities have allowed me to expand my expertise in cutting-edge water treatment technologies.