Full Professor at the University Rovira i Virgili. She has more than 120 articles published in internationally indexed journals according to the JCR (the average number of citations per article is 30.8). Her H-index is 39. She has been responsible for five research projects funded by the MINECO. She has supervised and co-supervised up to 9 doctoral theses, all with a European/International Doctoral Degree. She has been awarded recognition for five consecutive six-year research periods (latest: 2016-2021).
As an educator, she has been recognized with six five-year periods in undergraduate and master's courses. She has undertaken management tasks such as Master's and Doctorate Coordinator at the URV for six years, Department Secretary, and Vice-Rector for International Relations at the same URV. She is currently the Director of the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology.
Her research has focused for years on the bioactivity of proanthocyanidins, phenolic compounds widely distributed in nature (fruits, vegetables). Her work has supported the activity of these compounds as specific natural signals through which nature coordinates with the human body, adipose tissue, and the endocrine system. She has demonstrated how these molecules act as protection against some disorders of glucose homeostasis, a field not extensively explored before.
Given the low bioavailability of proanthocyanidins, she has demonstrated their interaction with the enteroendocrine system. As a result of this work, dosages of grape seed proanthocyanidins have been defined as satiating agents.
Currently, she is involved in two priority research lines focused on taste receptors located along the gastrointestinal tract. The optimal characterization of these receptors in this location and the analysis of their role in different segments of the gastrointestinal tract in obesity or aging are among the objectives being worked on in parallel to their modulation by bitter agonists and/or peptides derived from alternative protein sources."