Dr. Keiko Shirai possesses a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, an M.Phil. in Biotechnology, and a B.Eng. in Biochemistry. Currently, she is a full-time Professor at the Biotechnology Department at Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana (UAM) in Mexico City.

She leads the group of Biopolymers and Bioprocess of Agro-Industrial and Food By-Products. She has published more than 97 papers in reputed journals and book chapters, holding a 22 in the h-Index. She has supervised 15 Ph.D. and 24 M.Phil. theses. She has eight patents on her credit.

Dr. Shirai has earned various distinctions, such as the highest level at the Mexican System of Researchers, and she is a regular member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences. She has won twice the Research Prize awarded by UAM and received the Heberto Castillo Prize as a leading Mexican scientist. She won the XXXVI National Prize in Food Science and Technology (CONACYT-Coca Cola) for her work as a degree thesis director.

Her research focuses on utilizing agricultural and aquatic wastes for biopolymers, enzymes, and metabolite production with materials and life sciences applications.