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

• McCrary, J.K.; Meyrat, A.K.; Rueda, R.M.; Calvo-Irabien, L.M. Plant Diversity in a Volcanic Crater Interior: Laguna De Apoyo Nature Reserve, Nicaragua. Conservation 2025, 5, 83. https://doi.org/10.3390/conservation5040083.
• H. E. Dzib-Baak, G. M. Molina-Salinas, A. H. Uc-Cachón, et al. “ Mechanistic Insights Into the Effect of the Essential Oil of Ambrosia hispida Pursh. Against Multidrug-Resistant Clinical Isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii.” Chemistry & Biodiversity 22, no. 12 (2025): e02050. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbdv.202502050.
• L. M. Calvo-Irabien, “ Essential Oil Variability of Ocimum campechianum Mill. in Southeastern Mexico: A Chemometric Approach.” Chemistry & Biodiversity (2025): e01898. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbdv.202501898.
• Uc-Cachón A.H., Calvo-Irabien, L.M+.; Dzul-Beh, A.D.J.; Dzib-Baak, H.E.; Grijalva-Arango, R.; Molina Salinas, G.M. Potential. 2024. Anti-Infectious Activity of Essential Oil Chemotypes of Lippia origanoides Kunth on Antibiotic-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains. Plants 13: 1172. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13091172.
• Herrera-López, M., Richomme, P., Peña-Rodríguez LM & Calvo-Irabien LM+. 2023. Bee Species, Botanical Sources and the Chemical Composition of Propolis from Yucatan, Mexico. Journal of Chemical Ecology https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-023--y.

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.