Dr. Octavio Loera Corral (born in Mexico City, March 1968) is a Distinguished Professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (a distinction approved by the Colegio Académico in Session No. 531 in 2023). He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, England, where he contributed to molecular biology and enzymology studies on fungi capable of degrading recalcitrant substances; a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), collaborating with the Solid-State Fermentation group; and a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemical Engineering from the Tecnológico Nacional de México (Campus Villahermosa).

Since 1998, he has served as a Full-Time Tenured Faculty Researcher in the Department of Biotechnology at UAM Iztapalapa and is a Level III National Researcher in the Sistema Nacional de Investigadoras e Investigadores (SNII). He teaches in the undergraduate programs in Industrial Biochemical Engineering and Food Engineering, as well as in the graduate program in Biotechnology and interdisciplinary UAM courses. His teaching career has been recognized with the Premio a la Docencia on three occasions (2005, 2009, and 2019) awarded by UAM. He has advised 32 undergraduate, 31 master’s, and 23 doctoral theses, and regularly participates in workshops and science outreach initiatives.

His research focuses on environmental biotechnology, specifically the use of fungi to degrade recalcitrant compounds, the production of enzymes and bioactive metabolites through agricultural waste reuse, and the development and strain improvement of microorganisms for biological control as alternatives to chemical pesticides. The graduate students he has mentored are currently integrated into higher education institutions, as well as the public and private sectors in key areas of biotechnology.