María Elena Álvarez-Buylla Roces (born July 11, 1959) is a Mexican professor of molecular genetics at
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
and the director of the
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología
Consejo is a village in the north of Corozal District, Belize. Consejo is located on a point of land where the bays of Corozal and Chetumal meet. Consejo is about 8 miles (12.9 km) from the district capital of Corozal Town, and across the wate ...
appointed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2018.
Early life and education
Álvarez-Buylla was born into an elite and privileged family of scientists in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
in 1959. Her father
Ramón Álvarez-Buylla was a neurophysiologist and founder of the Department of Physiology at
CINVESTAV
The Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (in Spanish: ''Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional'' or simply as ''CINVESTAV-IPN'') is a Mexican non-governmental ...
.
Her mother, Elena Roces Dorronsoro, is a biologist and researcher at the
University of Colima
The University of Colima (in Spanish: ''Universidad de Colima'') is a Mexican public university with several campuses across the state of Colima, bordering the Pacific Ocean. It was created on September 16, 1940 by the President Lázaro Cárdenas ...
.
Her grandparents worked in aviation and her uncle is the economist José Carlos Roces Dorronsoro. Her brother,
Arturo Álvarez-Buylla, is a neurobiologist. She attended the
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
, where she studied biology and graduated in 1983. Her undergraduate dissertation involved
ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...
, and was acknowledged by the Botanical Society of Mexico. She was awarded the
Gabino Barreda
Gabino Barreda (born Puebla, 1818 – died Mexico City 1881) was a Mexican physician and philosopher oriented to French positivism.
After participating in the Mexican–American War defending his country as a volunteer, he studied medicine in ...
medal for her educational performance. She remained at the
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
for her master's degree, where she investigated
Cecropia
''Cecropia'' is a Neotropical genus consisting of 61 recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees.
The genus consists of pioneer trees in the more or less humid parts of the Neotropics, with the majority of the speci ...
from
Los Tuxtlas
Los Tuxtlas is a region in the south of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Politically it refers to four municipalities: Catemaco, San Andrés Tuxtla, Santiago Tuxtla and Hueyapan de Ocampo. It also refers to a high complex natural ecosystem, an isola ...
. In 1986 Álvarez-Buylla moved to the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
for her doctoral studies, where she worked with
Montgomery Slatkin on
rainforests
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...
. After earning her PhD Álvarez-Buylla was appointed a postdoctoral researcher at the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
, where she worked in
La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
on molecular genetics.
Research and career
She has investigated how genetic information is mapped onto a phenotype. She joined the Institute of Ecology at the
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
in 1992. Here she leads the Laboratory of Genetics, Epigenetics, Development and Evolution of Plants. Her work is centred in developmental ecology, and she has looked to understand the mechanisms of cell differentiation and
morphogenesis
Morphogenesis (from the Greek ''morphê'' shape and ''genesis'' creation, literally "the generation of form") is the biological process that causes a cell, tissue or organism to develop its shape. It is one of three fundamental aspects of devel ...
.
She has focussed on the balance between proliferation and cell differentiation in the ''
Arabidopsis thaliana
''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa. ''A. thaliana'' is considered a weed; it is found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land.
A winter a ...
''.
She has investigated the hormonal pathways in plants, as well as studying how they respond to different environments. Álvarez-Buylla has worked in both experimental and theoretical science, developing models that can predict phenotypic patterns, and monitor the role of the environment in complex feedback networks.
She provided the framework for understanding of
MADS-box
The MADS box is a conserved sequence motif. The genes which contain this motif are called the MADS-box gene family. The MADS box encodes the DNA-binding MADS domain. The MADS domain binds to DNA sequences of high similarity to the motif CC /Tsub>6G ...
genes, which act as regulators of plant and animal development.
Following on from her early career studying rainforests, Álvarez-Buylla has continued to research biodiversity in Mexico. She has created demographic-genetic mathematical models to help with forest regeneration and predict the effects of harvest and species extinction.
The models developed by Álvarez-Buylla are used in conservation and forest management worldwide.
Her research has identified over 20 new scientific species.
She has monitored the biosecurity of ''
Lacandonia schismatica
''Lacandonia schismatica'' is a species of mycoheterotrophic plant in the Triuridaceae (although some taxonomists place the genus in a separate family; the Lacandonaceae.). It is endemic to Lacandon Jungle in the State of Chiapas in southern Mexi ...
'', a crop of immense importance to Mexican communities, as well as various pine populations.
Advocacy and academic service
Álvarez-Buylla was a member of the Mexican delegation for the
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is an international organization that brings together scholars and public figures to work toward reducing the danger of armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats. It was f ...
. She co-founded, with numerous other scientists, the Mexico Union of Scientists Committed to Society, and has called for more research to be done into the impact of
genetically modified crops
Genetically modified crops (GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering methods. Plant genomes can be engineered by physical methods or by use of ''Agrobacterium'' for the delivery of ...
while using her position as head of Mexico’s ministry of science and technology to thwart research in biotechnology In 2018 Álvarez-Buylla became the first woman to be appointed the Director of the
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología
Consejo is a village in the north of Corozal District, Belize. Consejo is located on a point of land where the bays of Corozal and Chetumal meet. Consejo is about 8 miles (12.9 km) from the district capital of Corozal Town, and across the wate ...
(CONACYT). In this capacity, she is the primary scientific advisor to
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mexico ...
, the President of Mexico, and in charge of the $1.5 billion budget. In 2019 she announced that the
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
were to become included into the council, and it would be renamed CONAHCYT. As head of CONACYT, Álvarez-Buylla has been instrumental in contributing to the centralization of science and technology governance in Mexico by reducing the role of civil society organizations in the sector and actively shaping the administration of higher education institutions against the will of their researchers, students, and workers. Various international organizations questioned the interference of CONACYT and Álvarez-Buylla without apparent responses from either the ministry or its director.
Awards and honours
Her awards and honours include;
* 1994
American Society of Naturalists The American Society of Naturalists was founded in 1883 and is one of the oldest professional societies dedicated to the biological sciences in North America. The purpose of the Society is "to advance and diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and o ...
Jasper Loftus-Hills Young Investigators Award
* 1999
Mexican Academy of Sciences
The Mexican Academy of Sciences ''(Academia Mexicana de Ciencias)'' is a non-profit organization comprising over 1800 distinguished Mexican scientists, attached to various institutions in the country, as well as a number of eminent foreign coll ...
National Research Award
* 2008
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
Heberto Castillo Prize
* 2010
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
National University Award
* 2011
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
Faustino Miranda Medal
* 2016 Elected to the Board of Directors of
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
* 2016
Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí
The Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí (in es, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, UASLP) is a public university in Mexico. It is the largest, oldest, and most comprehensive university in the state of San Luis Potosí, as well as ...
National Prize for Scientific-Technological Research
* 2017
National Prize of Sciences and Arts
Selected publications
Her publications include;
*
*
*
*
Scandals
Since taking up her current post as director of the
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología
Consejo is a village in the north of Corozal District, Belize. Consejo is located on a point of land where the bays of Corozal and Chetumal meet. Consejo is about 8 miles (12.9 km) from the district capital of Corozal Town, and across the wate ...
, María Elena Álvarez-Buylla Roces has undertaken actions against the community that she represents. The most recent is a plot for criminalizing 31 scientists and academicians of the same council that she leads, CONACYT. Those 31 scientists and academicians have publicly and openly expressed their differences with the current policies of the CONACYT, and have outcried the persecution of those who exercised their functions based on the regulations then in force, which were guided by a different conception of the country's scientific and technological development.
The context of the plot :
* Alejandro Gertz Manero the current Attorney General of Mexico under the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been trying for 11 years to be a member of the National System of Researchers (Sistema Nacional de Investigadores or SNI), however, the SNI concluded that he has no merits for being a member.
* Gertz Manero rejects the conclusions from the SNI and files a discrimination complaint before the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (Spanish: Consejo Nacional para Prevenir La Discriminación; CONAPRED).
* María Elena Álvarez-Buylla states that the petitioner was right in alleging that the results of the SNI Evaluation Commissions are "arbitrary". Álvarez-Buylla exercises her own non-arbitrary judgment and rules that "irregularities and human rights violations were committed", since "an arbitrary exercise of the evaluation functions has been detected, as well as partiality and lack of objectivity" leading to "discriminatory practices".
* María Elena Álvarez-Buylla grants Alejandro Gertz Manero the highest level as a member of the SNI, level III, even when Gertz Manero has been accused of plagiarism of the book Guillermo Prieto (Biography), published by the Secretaría de Educación Pública in 1967.
* Alejandro Gertz Manero as Attorney General of Mexico presents criminal charges against members of the SNI who rejected his entry to the SNI, and states that those academics “used federal funds meant for scientific research on a private organization, buying furniture, vehicles, properties, and paying salaries and other services”. However, no wrongdoing can be claimed since those academicians proceeded according to a law of 2019, which was in force when they used those funds.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez-Buylla Roces, Maria Elena
1959 births
Living people
Academic staff of the National Autonomous University of Mexico