CINTECX is dedicating the month of November to Ana Bel\u00e9n Moldes Mendui\u00f1a, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Vigo and a researcher at the centre. She entered the world of research towards the end of her degree, when she discovered a way of working that sparked her curiosity and ultimately shaped her professional career. This year she has been recognised as one of Spain\u2019s most cited scientists in the CSIC\u2019s 2026 ranking.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t clear to her from the outset that she wanted to pursue a career in research. It was Professor Juan Carlos Paraj\u00f3 Li\u00f1ares, one of the lecturers who most influenced her education, who encouraged her to consider this career path. The confidence he placed in her helped her take the plunge, and she subsequently had the opportunity to continue her training and work alongside him.<\/p>\n
One of the challenges she faced in her early years was building a career in Chemical Engineering following an initial background in Food Technology. To do so, she had to delve deeper into a field other than that of her studies and continue her training. Today, as a professor, she believes that her experience can serve as a guide for those embarking on a PhD in a field different from that of their degree. Biosurfactants and new antibiotics<\/strong><\/p>\n Ana Moldes co-leads, alongside Professor Jos\u00e9 Manuel Cruz, the EQ10 research group, which works on two lines of research. One focuses on the production of biosurfactants from industrial waste streams and by-products; the other on developing new antibiotics based on gramicidin analogues.<\/p>\n The group combines biotechnology, environmental engineering and sustainability to develop more biocompatible formulations for cosmetic, pharmaceutical and agrochemical applications, bringing their results closer to the market through proof-of-concept projects.<\/p>\n Research stays abroad have also shaped his career. Almost thirty years ago, he worked at a leading centre of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). That experience enabled him to familiarise himself with other scientific environments and to see that Spanish research was on a par with that carried out at prestigious international centres.<\/p>\n Time for research<\/strong><\/p>\n Ana Moldes believes that curiosity and enthusiasm are part and parcel of scientific work, although she acknowledges that research can make it difficult to switch off at the end of the working day. To balance this with her personal life, she emphasises the importance of organising her time with a degree of flexibility and having the support of those around her. In her case, the support of her team, her husband and her family was particularly important during her postdoctoral period and when she became a mother.<\/p>\n Regarding potential barriers to progress in a scientific career, her experience in Chemical Engineering has differed from that described in other fields. She states that she has not felt that being a woman has limited her professional opportunities. She also acknowledges that others may have experienced different situations and argues that inequalities must be analysed taking into account the characteristics of each sector.<\/p>\n Her main concern regarding the future of the research profession relates to the accumulation of responsibilities. As well as conducting research and publishing, scientific staff must devote an increasing amount of time to managing projects, seeking funding, communicating results and working on their transfer. For Ana Moldes, these tasks are valuable, but there is a risk that they may take time away from research.<\/p>\n \u2018We should return to the roots of what it means to conduct research<\/em>\u2019, she argues. She calls for time to think, experiment, make mistakes and review hypotheses, without losing sight of scientific rigour. Communication and knowledge transfer are necessary, but she believes that professionals specialising in these fields can complement the work of researchers.<\/p>\n To those considering a career in science, she \u201crecommends getting to know the profession well before making a decision, and having curiosity, a desire to learn and a willingness to step outside one\u2019s comfort zone<\/em>\u201d. She also highlights \u201cthe importance of teamwork, because scientific advances are the result of collective effort<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Vigo and researcher at CINTECX is featured in the November calendar and reflects on her career, the transfer of research findings and the need to reclaim time for research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":265440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-265443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cintecx.uvigo.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cintecx.uvigo.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cintecx.uvigo.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cintecx.uvigo.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cintecx.uvigo.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265443"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cintecx.uvigo.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":265447,"href":"https:\/\/cintecx.uvigo.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265443\/revisions\/265447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cintecx.uvigo.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cintecx.uvigo.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cintecx.uvigo.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cintecx.uvigo.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u201cChanging fields need not be a limitation; it can even be an advantage<\/em>\u201d, she says.<\/p>\n