Mar Villamiel Guerra graduated from Complutense University holds a PhD in Pharmacy and is currently a research scientist at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), also serving as the director of the Center for Food Science Research (CIAL, CSIC-UAM) in Madrid. She has conducted research exchanges at the NIZO Food Research Institute in the Netherlands and the Norwich Food Research Institute in the UK. She has published over 150 academic papers, one book, holds four patents, and has participated in numerous national and international research projects in collaboration with renowned companies and research institutions. Her main research focus is on the sustainable extraction, characterization, and evaluation of bioactive carbohydrate-based compounds from agricultural products. Currently, she leads the research group on the chemistry and function of carbohydrates and their derivatives.