Rafael has a PhD in food science and technology and graduated with honors from the Autonomous University of Coahuila. He is a biochemist with a master's in bioengineering, specializing in molecular and synthetic biology (2014) from the University of Minho, Portugal, with the best student award from the School of Engineering. Rafael has published 37 articles in indexed scientific journals, 9 book chapters, and 1 patent, with 1300 citations and an H-index of 17. He has participated in various national and international conferences. He has been recognized with the 2019 Lobo Award for Excellence in Innovation and the 2020 Tritio Award for best doctoral thesis by the Autonomous University of Coahuila; he has also been awarded the Dondé 2020 Food Products Award by the Mexican Association of Food Science (AMECA). Rafael is member of the Mexican Society of Biotechnology and Bioengineering (SMBB) and the Mexican Association of Food Science (AMECA). Rafael has experience and interests in bioprocesses, environmental biotechnology, biomaterials, food science, and the valorization of natural resources to produce and extract bioactive compounds and biopolymers using emerging technologies, characterization via analytical techniques, and evaluation of their biological activities and industrial applications.