She holds a PhD in Process Engineering from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil. Part of her doctoral research was conducted at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg, Germany, and the Delft University of Technology, Netherlands.

Research and Work Area

Her work focuses on food and bioengineering processing, with an emphasis on emerging technologies, sub/supercritical fluids, bioactives, and natural health products.

Awards and Recognitions

• Throughout her career, she has received several awards, including:

• Killam Annual Professorship Award (2023-2024)

• AFNS Graduate Mentor Award (2023)

• ALES Faculty International Engagement Award (2022)

• McCalla Professorship (2017)—awarded to outstanding academics who have made significant contributions in research and teaching.

• Gold College (2015)—an academic leadership program.

• FAPESP Scholarship (1997-2002) and an Industry Award from the Brazilian Coffee Industry Association (ABIC) (1998).

Main Research Areas

She leads studies in emerging processing technologies, including:

• Sub/supercritical fluid processing (supercritical CO₂, subcritical and supercritical water, pressurized fluids for extraction and particle formation).

• Ultrasound processing (extraction, emulsification, chemical reactions and seeds germination).

• High-pressure processing for treating food products and agricultural materials.

• Additionally, her team works on unit operations for food and by-product processing, such as extraction, adsorption, fractionation, particle formation, and mathematical modeling.

Collaborations and Teaching