Vanessa Esteves Mesquita holds a degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics and a Master's degree in Applied Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the Complutense University of Madrid. Her final degree project was awarded the second prize for Best Final Degree Project in Spain by the IV National Conference for Professors of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Additionally, her Final Project was published on the website of the Scientific Outreach and Transfer Unit of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at UCM.
A native speaker of Spanish and Portuguese and holding a B2 level in English certified by Cambridge, Vanessa has actively participated in four national research projects including the GREENCOF project (PID2020-114102RB-I00) at the Institute of Food Science and Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN-CSIC), the Student Observatory project at the Complutense University of Madrid (2022–2023) entitled "Feed Your Culture: Understanding the Food Restrictions by Culture or Religion of the University Community" (CRACRU-UCM), one Service–Learning project, and one Innovation-Teaching project, both carried out at UCM.
Vanessa is co-author of a scientific–technical report published in Docta Complutense and has delivered six talks and two posters at national and international scientific congresses.
Lastly, Vanessa has actively participated in scientific outreach activities. Notably, she collaborated on the activities organized by ICTAN during the Madrid es Ciencia Fair.
Álvaro Fernández Cardero holds a degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the
Complutense University of Madrid (UCM, 2019–2023). He also holds a degree in
Physical Activity and Sports Sciences from the University of Castilla-La Mancha
(UCLM, 2015–2019). He has a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition and Applied
Dietetics from UCM (2023–2024) and is currently a predoctoral student in the
Pharmacy Doctoral Program at the same university. He works as a predoctoral
researcher under an FPU 2023 contract (University Teaching Training
Fellowship) linked to the GREENCOF project (PID2020-114102RB-I00) at the
Institute of Food Science and Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN-CSIC). Previously,
he held a research position in the project "Evaluation of the Potential
Antidiabetic Effect of Olive Pomace Oil" funded by ORIVA
(Interprofessional Association of Olive Pomace Oil) for six months. He was
awarded a collaboration grant at UCLM (2018) and a JAE-Intro grant at CSIC
(2023–2024). He has participated in five research projects, including one where
he served as the principal investigator of a project funded by the UCM Student
Observatory (2023). He has presented 14 posters and delivered talks at
national and international conferences and is the lead author of two
publications in high-impact journals (Q1). Lastly,
Álvaro earned second place in the XIII Scientific Outreach Competition,
organized by the Complutense University of Madrid and the Spanish Federation of
Science and Technology.
With a background in Human Nutrition and Food Science, I hold a Ph.D. in Veterinary Sciences and two Master's degrees in Food Quality and Safety and Secondary Education. My career spans 13 years and combines teaching, research, and professional roles. I have worked in the food quality control in the industry, collaborated on research projects at the University of Zaragoza and Buenos Aires, and earned an FPI fellowship to study food microbiology focusing on pathogenic and probiotic strains.
I later served as the Coordinator at the Spanish Federation of Coeliac Associations (FACE), gaining experience in public speaking, policy advocacy, and public health communication. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, teaching in three undergraduate programs and supervising 12 undergraduate projects, one Master's thesis, and a Ph.D. dissertation.
I have published 16 research articles in JCR journals and presented at 24 national and international conferences. My research continues to focus on food safety, probiotics, and celiac disease.
