Dr. Peña was head of CIMMYT's wheat chemistry and quality laboratory and was elected to the Academy of the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC). He worked at CIMMYT for 28 years
The ICC, founded in 1955, is an internationally recognized association for its research and technologies for the production of cereals through international cooperation in order to improve food quality, improve food security and food safety. He worked at CIMMYT until 2013. He is currently retired.