I am from Bogotá, Colombia. I earned my bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. I have always been interested in working with animals, especially pigs, and I have always been curious about science and biotechnology. My interest in swine production stems from sharing experiences on some farms during my undergraduate years, which made me realize that swine production is one of my country's best and most important industries. I also volunteered in the university's biotechnology lab, where I learned to appreciate laboratory work. 

I came to the US to work as an intern at the Swine Research Center, assisting in the Stein monogastric nutrition lab research. It was an excellent opportunity to expand my knowledge about swine feeding and nutrition, understand and conduct research, and expose myself to analyzing data, giving presentations, and writing manuscripts.

From these experiences, I developed an interest in nutrition as the main impact factor in the swine industry and a wish to continue researching nutrients that may impact intestinal health and growth.

As a graduate student of the Stein monogastric laboratory, my research focuses on determining the fermentability of fiber and utilization of energy in diets with added exogenous enzymes when used in diets for sows and growing pigs. In 2022, I got my master's degree focused on the digestibility of energy and total dietary fiber by gestating and lactating sows fed exogenous xylanase. Now, I am working on my Ph.D., which also focuses on the effects of xylanase and related feed additives on the fermentability of dietary fiber when fed to growing pigs.

I am honored to be part of Dr. Stein's research team and am grateful for the opportunity to conduct research and contribute to the development of knowledge of nutrition. I am very grateful to Dr. Stein, Mrs. Gloria Casas, and Mr. German Guerrero.

In the future, I hope to contribute to the development of the Swine Industry in my country.