María de Lourdes Torres Proaño

María de Lourdes Torres completed her PhD studies in Plant Molecular Biology at the Freie Universität Berlin (Germany). She is a full time professor at the College of Biological and Environmental Sciences (COCIBA) of Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador). She is Vice-Dean of the COCIBA, Coordinator of the Biotechnology Area and Director of the Plant Biotechnology Lab. She directs and takes part in research projects mainly related to in vitro culture and molecular characterization, using molecular and genomic markers of plant species of interest to Ecuador. She also maintains collaborations with national and international researchers in projects involving genetic analysis of animal species and bacterial consortia. She has experience in policy development on access to genetic resources and biosafety in relation to the use and management of genetically modified organisms and modern biotechnology.