Graduated in Chemistry (Agricultural Chemistry specialization) from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) in 1999 and Ph.D. from the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Chemistry Program at the UAM in December 2005. My research and teaching focuses on different aspects of soil science and agricultural chemistry.

Research track record:

1) 1999-2006: Technician / predoctoral / postdoctoral fellows in the Department of Agricultural Chemistry, UAM, and in the “Micronutrients in Agriculture” research group led by Professor Juan José Lucena Marotta. Achievements during this period: 12 JCR articles (10 in Q1), 1 book chapter, 1 patent. Participation in 7 research projects funded by private companies in the fertilizer sector and 5 research projects from national and regional public research programs. The main objective of this work was to contribute to the legal framework of fertilizers based on synthetic iron chelates, collaborating in the improvement of the methods of analysis for iron chelates, by developing methods for the determination of new authorized chelating agents ([o,p]EDDHA and EDDHSA), studying the quality of formulations marketed in recent years, studying the ability of iron chelates to supply Fe to plants, and developing new Fe chelates (patent EP1939157-A1; WO2008077897-A1). In that period I participated as a member of the European Working Group (CEN/TC 260/WG5) on the "Determination of chelating agents".

2) 2007-2009: I moved to the Instituto de “Investigaciones Agrobiológicas de Galicia” (IIAG-CSIC) with an I3P postdoctoral contract. There, I joined the “Biochemistry, Quality and Soil Conservation” group under the supervision of Ph.D. Serafín González Prieto, focusing on the study of the dynamics of nutrients (mainly micronutrients) in soil-plant agroforestry systems. Achievements during this period: 8 JCR articles (5 in Q1). Participation in 3 research projects from national and regional public research programs. In forest systems, the short, medium and long-term effects of fire, the implementation of flame retardants and post-fire management techniques (grass seeding vs. straw mulching) on the soil-plant system (I was responsible for the part related to chemical properties of soil and eroded sediments, vegetation cover, plant nutrient content) were studied. With regard to agricultural systems, the effects of long-term conventional and conservation tillage on soil quality (I was responsible for the part related to chemical characteristics and its stratification in the soil profile) in forage rotations in a humid-temperate area were assessed.

3) 2009-now: Lecturer position (Profesor Ayudante Doctor and Contratado Doctor) and Associate Professor, in the Department of Chemistry and Food Technology, “Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas”, “Universidad Politécnica de Madrid”. Achievements during this period: 12 JCR articles (11 in Q1). Participation as a research group in 9 research projects from international, national (one as Co-IP), and regional public research programs. Main researcher of 3 research projects funded by private companies in the fertilizer sector. All these projects are related to the study of strategies to mitigate greenhouse gases (nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, methane) and other reactive N compounds (nitric oxide and ammonia) from agricultural systems. As a researcher in the research group Contamination of Agroecosystems by Agriculture Practices (COAPA) led by Professor Antonio Vallejo García, the use of different N fertilizers (organic, mineral, stabilized N fertilizers with nitrification and/or urease inhibitors), fertilization timing and rate, conservation agriculture practices (no and minimum tillage, cover cropping, crop rotations) and irrigation systems have been studied. At present, I am responsible for the part related to the use of 15N as isotopic tracer to improve the knowledge of N oxides emissions processes. And our group has implemented, for the first time in Spain, automatic chamber systems for NOx and N2O measurements.

As a result of this work, I have published 32 contributions in JCR journals, with an h WoS of 18 and 925 citations (Dec 2021). I am regular user of large equipment such as HPLC, UV-v Molecular Absorption Spectrophotometer; Flame Atomic Spectrophotometer with graphite chamber, ICP, gas chromatography, and FIA. I carried out predoctoral and postdoctoral stays in prestigious international research centers: University of Bologna in Italy, in the group headed by Dr. Mauro A. Cremonini, specialist in NMR (6 months); Rothamsted Research in UK, under the supervision of Laura M. Cárdenas, Senior Research Scientist specialist on the role of the N pools in gaseous emissions and which we currently work in close collaboration. I have supervised a total of 12 final degree and master projects (ETSIAAB, UPM), a predoctoral grant (PEJ-2018-PRE/BIO-8775), and 1 thesis (in progress).