Maria Alejandra Ospina Portilla

I work in the Cassava Program of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT in Cali, Colombia. First, I was involved as an undergraduate intern in Agroindustrial Engineering studying the use of cassava flour in baking products. Afterwards, I continued with my Master's Degree in Agricultural Sciences evaluating nutritional properties and commercial quality in the genetic diversity collection of cassava with genotyping for cyanide content.

Currently I work in the cassava post-harvest quality laboratory where I perform quality, rheological, nutritional and physicochemical analyzes of the cassava genotypes improved by the program. Also, I have experience in sensory evaluation of foods, transfer of post-harvest technologies for the production of cassava flours and starches.

As a researcher, I am passionate about plant breeding, nutrition and product development. I research the development of yellow cassava genotypes with high content of carotenoid compounds such as
strategy to reduce vitamin A deficiency and its transformation into food products (ice cream, waffles, pancakes) of high added value for cassava producing communities.