Maika Lorena
Barría Castro

Biography

Institution: IDIAP / Agricultural Innovation Center of Azuero
Position: Researcher in Nutrition
Email: barria.maika@gmail.com / mayka.barriac@idiap.gob.pa

Profile
Graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Panama. She holds a Master's degree in Education with a specialization in Higher Education Teaching from the Interamerican University of Panama. Currently, she serves as a Project Manager at IDIAP, where she is a researcher in studies on biofortified crops. She coordinates activities related to Information Management and Technical Communication Support at IDIAP. She is part of the research team for projects such as Protected Environment Horticulture and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for family agriculture, in technical cooperation with the IDB / FONTAGRO.

She represents Panama in the Regional Biofortification Platform, Harvest Plus. She also serves as a thesis advisor and a preceptor in Public Health for the University of Panama and the Interamerican University of Panama. Previously, she worked as a Nutritionist Dietitian at the Ministry of Health. She has experience in studies on eating behaviors in school consumers conducted with Stanford University, UNICEF, and INCAP. She completed an International Diploma in Food Security and Nutrition, Right to Food, and Public Policies against Hunger in Central America, Guatemala. She is the author of scientific articles in the IDIAP Agricultural Sciences Journal, the Human Nutrition Perspectives Journal of the University of Antioquia, Colombia, and others.

She is currently a nutrition researcher and the project manager for "Production of Biofortified Crops and Their Uses in Human Nutrition: AgroNutre Panama" at the Agricultural Innovation Institute of Panama (IDIAP). She is also part of the research team in regional FONTAGRO projects, including "Innovations for Horticulture in Protected Environments in Tropical Areas" and "More Productive and Sustainable Rice for Latin America."

Projects