Dr. Joan Oñate Narciso studied Chemistry at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños (UPLB) under the mentorship of Professor Evelyn B. Rodriguez, analyzing indole glucosinolates found in locally grown Brassica vegetables. She pursued an MSc thesis in Biochemistry at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) under the mentorship of Dr. Ajay Kohli and Dr. Antonio Laurena. Her MSc focused on the role of cellulose synthases in rice drought tolerance. She obtained her PhD in Plant Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Melbourne under Professor Tony Bacic, Dr. Monika S. Doblin, and Dr. Wei Zeng, studying the biosynthesis of arabinogalactan-proteins. Her first postdoctoral position was at INRA-Versailles, France, under Dr. Grégory Mouille, where she searched for O-fucosylation in the plant cell wall. Currently, she is looking at the potential of kabog millet, an ancient crop from the Philippines, as an alternative to rice. She is a Future Food Fellow at ETH Zürich under the supervision of Professor Dr. Laura Nyström.