Meet Adrián de la Fuente Ballesteros

Adrián develops and validates greener, more sustainable methods for determining contaminants and bioactive compounds in food and environmental samples. His wider interests include chemistry education, generative AI, and science communication. “What I like most is that no two days are the same,” he says. “There are always new contaminants to study, new food or environmental samples to analyze, or new analytical techniques to learn.”

Adrián believes making analytical science more inclusive will be as important as technological innovation. “We sometimes overlook the fact that advances shouldn’t increase the gap between well-funded laboratories and those with limited resources,” he says. “Developing affordable methods, open-source tools, citizen science initiatives, and promoting open knowledge will be just as important as developing new technologies over the next decade.”

He also identifies the slow translation of academic research into practical use as a significant challenge. “Every year, we publish many new analytical methods, but only a small fraction are adopted by industry, routine laboratories, or regulatory agencies.” Adrián would also like researchers to embrace AI, continue updating their knowledge throughout their careers, and communicate their work beyond scientific publications through talks, workshops, competitions, and other outreach activities.

International collaboration has played an important role in Adrián’s career, beginning with opportunities provided by Erasmus+ and developing into a global network of research partners. An educational volunteering project in Guatemala also taught him how to teach with limited resources in a setting where access to education was not guaranteed.

Outside the lab, Adrián writes stories and poems. “It might sound unrelated to science, but it has taught me the importance of strong writing skills and how to adapt a message to different audiences.”