Doctor Rosario Cárdenas studied for a degree in medicine at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, a Master´s degree in Demography from El Colegio de México, and a Doctor in Science degree in Population and International Health Studies from Harvard University, did a Postdoctoral stay on Health Policies at the Institute for Health Policy Studies of the University of California, San Francisco and has got two Diplomas, one on Non-discrimination Law from the Institute for Legal Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and another one on Human rights and its measurement through indicators by the University Program of Human Rights of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Currently, the president of the Citizen Advisory Council for Population Policy participates as a permanent guest in two collegial instances of consultation for decision-making about the production of statistical information: Specialized Technical Committee on Population and Demographic Dynamics (National Population Council and INEGI) and in the Specialized Technical Committee on Health Sector (Secretariat of Health and INEGI).

Her research interest is focused on analyzing the population's living conditions, social inequalities, the fulfillment of rights, and the monitoring and evaluation of public policies.

Her publications address, among other topics, demographic transformations and their measurement, characterization of living conditions, determinants of sociodemographic processes, social inequality, global estimates of phenomena that impact population dynamics, and evaluation of public policies.

Member of the National System of Researchers, former president of the Mexican Demographic Society and Academic Counselor of the National Council for Evaluation of Social Development Policy.