Academic Group

Professor Michelle Esther Chauvet Sánchez Pruneda began her academic training with a degree in Journalism and Collective Communication before continuing with a Master's and Ph.D. in Economics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

Since 1981, she has been a professor at the Department of Sociology. In 1993, she obtained the Teaching Prize, in 2010 the Research Areas Prize, and in 2011 she received the appointment of Distinguished Professor awarded by the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM). Her lines of research have focused on the livestock economy, the social effects of biotechnology on agriculture and the environment, food security, and social studies of science and technology.

Teamwork has been her conviction, and for this reason, in 1990, she led the formation of a group called "Biotechnology and Society", currently constituted as the Research Area on Social Impacts of Biotechnology. Their works have pioneered the characterization of the effects - positive or negative - of scientific innovations in society. She is characterized by a notable eagerness to get students involved in research projects supported by the UAM, public organisms, and international funds.

In her academic career, she has shown a solid institutional commitment by serving a wide range of positions such as Coordinator of the Axis of Rural Sociology, Coordinator of the Social Service of the Division of Social Sciences and Humanities, Coordinator of Academic Development of the DCSH, General Coordinator of Academic Development in the Rectory of the UAM Azcapotzalco Campus and representative of the academic staff in the Academic Council and College.

It is noteworthy that she founded the Mexican Association for Rural Studies with Dr. Hubert Carton de Grammont from the UNAM Institute for Social Research. This association of rural researchers is the most important of its kind at a national level. First established in 1994, it aims to promote, disseminate and deepen research and knowledge concerning the Mexican field to contribute to national rural development with equity. She served as president of the association from 2001 to 2003, and – in this area – she has promoted the participation of students in its various conferences.

Member of the Consultative Council for Biosafety, of the Inter-secretarial Commission for Biosafety and Genetically Modified Organisms, 2000 to 2004. She was part of the delegation of Mexico at the sixth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. COP-MOP- 6 in 2012.

In 2009, she was invited to collaborate as a teacher in the CINVESTAV – Mexico City as part of the postgraduate program in Scientific and Technological Development for Society. With this, she facilitated the mobility of doctoral students across institutions.

The academic dissemination is evident in her publication record at national and international levels. Her latest book, Biotechnology, and Society, from the Basic Library of the UAM, is a clear contribution to students' training.