Education

• Ph.D. Ecology. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. 1997.
• Sabbatical. McGill University, Montreal, Canada. 2004-2005.
• Sabbatical. INP Agro-Industrial Chemistry Lab, Toulouse, France. 2016-2017.

Current research

• I am interested in building the scientific basis for the development, implementation and conservation strategies for aromatic plants of the Yucatan Peninsula.
• The focus of my research is multidisciplinary, collaborating with researchers in the areas of natural products, chemical ecology, microbiology, ethnobotany, systematic, genetics and ecophysiology, in order to advance the understanding of the effects that genetic, physiological, ecological and management practices have on the quantity and quality of the essential oil produced in native aromatic plants. This knowledge is indispensable to define the most pertinent applications (health, agriculture, cosmetics, food) of the studied essential oils.

CURRENT PROJECTS

• Aromatic Plants and Essential Oils: Chemical Ecology, Use, Management and Conservation.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

• Llamas-Torres, I., Grijalva-Arango, R., Porter-Bolland, L., & Calvo-Irabien, L. M. (2022). Impact of the in situ-ex situ management of Mexican oregano (Lippia origanoides Kunth) in northwestern Yucatan. Botanical Sciences, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.17129/botsci.2994
• Canché-Collí C, Estrella-Maldonado H, Medina-Medina LA, Moo-Valle H, Calvo-Irabien LM, Chan-Vivas E, Rodríguez R, Canto A. 2021. Effect of yeast and essential oil-enriched diets on critical determinants of health and immune function in Africanized Apis mellifera. PeerJ 9:e12164 http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12164
• Sáenz Pedroza Irving; Feldman, Richard Evan; Reyes-García, Cassandra; Meave, J.A.; Calvo-Irabién, Luz María; May-Pat, Filogonio; Dupuy-Rada, Juan Manuel. 2020. Seasonal and successional dynamics of size-dependent plant demographic rates in a tropical dry forest. PeerJ 8e9636 http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9636
• Herrera-López, M.G.; Rubio Hernandez Evelyn Itzel; Richomme Pascal; Schinkovitz, Andreas; Calvo-Irabién, Luz María; Peña Rodriguez Luis Manuel. 2020. Resorcinolic lipids from Yucatecan propolis. Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society 31(1)1:186-192 http://dx.doi.org/10.21577/0103-5053.20190156
• *Barbieri, N., Sanchez-Contreras, A., Canto A., Cauich-Rodriguez J., Vargas-Coronado, R., Calvo-Irabien L.M. 2018. Effect of cyclodextrin and Mexican oregano chemotype (Lippia graveolens Kunth) chemotypes on the microencapsulation of essential oil. Industrial Crops and Products 121(1):114-123 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2018.04.081

RECOGNITIONS AND AWARDS

• 2022: Level II. Sistema Nacional de Investigadores. CONACyT
• 2017. Level I. Sistema Nacional de Investigadores. CONACyT
• 2017. Tierra de Mujeres Award. Yves-Rocher

RECOMMENDED WEB PAGES

• http://www.cienciamx.com/index.php/ciencia/mundo-vivo/7539-gobernanza-de-la-biodiversidad-en-yucatan-reportaje.
• https://reporteroshoy.mx/wp/reconocen-proyecto-de-la-cientifica-luz-maria-calvo-irabien.html.

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

B.S.
• Quantitative and qualitative characterization of essential oils from aromatic native plants of the Yucatan Peninsula.
• Anatomical and morphological studies of secretory structures (glandular trichomes, resin canals) in native aromatic plants using electron and confocal microscopy.
• Analysis of biological activity in the essential oils of native aromatic plants of the Yucatan Peninsula.
• Protocol development for sexual and vegetative propagation of native aromatic plants of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Graduate
• Factors (ethnobotanical, ecological and genetic) responsible for observed variation in essential oils quantity and quality in native aromatic plants.
• Evaluation of biological activity of essential oils in native aromatic plants of the Yucatan Peninsula.
• Ecophysiology of native aromatic plants cultivated in the Yucatan Peninsula.
• The importance of plant smell and taste in the domestication process.