Team

Principal Investigator

Nadia Guajardo Ramírez

Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering at UC. Her academic and research work focuses on sustainable chemistry, biocatalysis, and enzymes used in food applications.

Nadia Guajardo was born in San Fernando, in Chile’s O’Higgins Region. She studied Bioprocess Engineering and earned both a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and a PhD in Biochemical Engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile. She subsequently conducted postdoctoral research in the university’s Department of Chemical Engineering, focusing on chemical catalysis in deep eutectic solvents (DES).

From 2016 to 2018, she served as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering, Science and Technology at Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins in Santiago, Chile. In 2018, she joined Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana as a full-time researcher and obtained tenure in 2023. Later that year, she joined the Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile as an Assistant Professor.

Her research focuses on developing sustainable and intensified biocatalytic processes by integrating enzyme immobilization, reaction-medium engineering, and green solvents. She also employs process-intensification strategies—including flow biocatalysis, microwave-assisted processes, and ultrasound—to design efficient and industrially relevant biocatalytic systems.

She is also a co-founder of IONCHEM, a technology-based spin-off dedicated to designing and producing functionalized solvents.

Nicolás Gajardo-Parra

Professor

Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Bioprocesses at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Postdoctoral Researcher.

Karina Reichel

Laboratory Manager

A biochemist trained at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, she began her career in research, with an emphasis on neuroscience and molecular biology. Currently, her work focuses on the study of enzyme kinetics and the use of biocatalysts applied to chemical reactions, integrating experimental and analytical approaches to develop solutions in biochemistry.

Lazaro Guerra

PhD Student

Lazaro Guerra is a Chemical Engineer and holds a master's degree in biotechnological process engineering from the Universidad de La Habana José Antonio Echeverría.

Claudia Melo

PhD Student

Claudia Melo Pérez holds a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Institute of Pharmacy and Food (IFAL) at the Universidad de la Habana, Cuba. She has professional experience in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in drug production, process control and optimization, and validation under Good Manufacturing Practices.

Yadaimis Rodríguez

PhD Student

Yadaimis Rodríguez holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad Tecnológica José Antonio Echeverría de la Habana in Havana, Cuba. In 2026, she obtained her master's degree in Biotechnological Process Engineering. She has worked to optimize key semi-purification parameters for scaling up biomolecule production for clinical trials.