José Francisco Álvarez Barreto

José Alvarez-Barreto, a Chemical Engineer from the University of Arkansas with a Ph.D. from the School of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering of the University of Oklahoma, currently serves as a professor at Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador), where he is also the Department Head of Chemical Engineering. His research focuses on polysaccharide- and lipid-based biomaterials for biomedical and biotechnological applications, specifically starches, pectins, chitosan, fats and waxes, and biopolymers derived from agricultural residues and by-products. Additionally, he is interested in the valorization of residual lignocellulosic biomass through pretreatment technologies for the production of value-added chemicals via circular and sustainable bioprocesses. With over 30 indexed publications and two patent applications, he has made significant contributions to the field.