Dr. Juan Francisco Cortés Benítez is a full-time Associate Professor at the Xochimilco Campus of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM). He has more than ten years of academic experience in the design and synthesis of molecules with pharmacological activity, as well as two years of industrial experience focused on the organic synthesis of bioactive compounds, both at the laboratory scale and in production plant scale-up.

He earned his degree as a Pharmaceutical Chemist Biologist (2011) from the Faculty of Chemistry at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He subsequently obtained his Master’s degree (2013) and Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences (2017), both with highest honors. He also completed a one-year research stay at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université Laval (CHUL) in Quebec City, Canada, where he focused on the design and organic synthesis of steroidal derivatives for the treatment of prostate cancer.

At UAM’s Xochimilco Campus, he has taught the following undergraduate courses in the Pharmaceutical Chemist Biologist program: “Synthesis and Reactivity of Organic Compounds,” “Preparation of Organic Compounds of Pharmaceutical Interest,” and “Applied Instrumental Analysis.” In the Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, he has taught “Preparation and Evaluation of Molecules with Biological Activity and Therapeutic Application” and “Synthesis of Molecules with Biological Activity.” He also served as a faculty representative on the Academic Council of the Xochimilco Campus during the 2023–2024 term.

His research projects focus on the design—through molecular docking and molecular dynamics studies—organic synthesis, and biological evaluation of new molecules for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, and various types of cancer. He has received research funding from SECIHTI and PRODEP. In addition, he is responsible for the Molecular Modeling service of the Medicinal Chemistry platform at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université Laval (CHUL), which provides services to both industry and academia.

Dr. Cortés has supervised ten undergraduate theses, three master’s theses, and three doctoral dissertations. He is the author of 26 scientific articles and two books. He is a Level 2 member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers (SECIHTI), holds the PRODEP Desirable Profile recognition, and is a member of the Nomenclature and Terminology Committee of the Mexican Pharmacopoeia (FEUM).