Academician/Research Scholar UCDavis, United States
Congratulations, Dr Cristina Medina Plaza, on winning the esteemed Best Researcher Award from ResearchW! Your dedication, innovative research, and scholarly contributions have truly made a significant impact in your field. Your commitment to advancing knowledge and pushing the boundaries of research is commendable. Here’s to your continued success in shaping the future of academia and making invaluable contributions to your field. Well done!
Dr Cristina Medina Plaza, a distinguished academic and researcher in the field of renewable energy, Academician/Research Scholar UCDavis, United States. His academic journey has been marked by a profound dedication to advancing Web Analytics and Metrics, specifically in solar thermal harvesting and its integration into Social Media and Digital Marketing applications.
Education:
- September 2012-June 2016
PhD with honors. Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Valladolid
(Spain).
Dissertation: Arrays of sensors for enology applications: using nanoscience for
grape analysis.
Advisor: Dr. M.L. Rodriguez-Mendez.
- September 2011-July 2012
Master of Science, “Advanced techniques in chemistry”. Department of
Analytical Chemistry, University of Valladolid (Spain).
Dissertation: Comparative chemometric study of the mobility of metals in two
areas of Castilla y León.
Advisor: Dr. R. Pardo.
- September 2006-July 2011
Bachelor of Science, Chemistry. University of Valladolid (Spain).
Professional Experience:
September 2023-Ongoing
Staff Research Associate Level 4. Department of Viticulture and Enology,
University of California, Davis (USA).
Project:
- Independently assess course and lab needs before each quarter/class in
consultation with the instructor.
- Provide innovative and significant ideas for the department’s courses,
including lab experiments and curriculum suggestions.
- Responsible for equipment, instrument, material and supplies inventory, as
well as setting up and maintaining lab equipment and instrumentation for
instruction purposes.
- Schedule teaching winery operations with the winery manager, oversee
their use, and coordinate grape, juice, and wine needs with relevant staff
and instructors.
- Supervise students during lab sessions, providing training and overseeing
procedures and instrument use.
- Coordinate TA activities in this area and assist in evaluating and testing lab
exercises for improved pedagogical value.
July/2016-June 2022
Postdoctoral Researcher. Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of
California, Davis (USA).
Projects:
- Investigation of accelerated red wine aging using micro-oxygenation in
combination with barrel aging (Main researcher/ 2021-2022)
- Impact and management of Grapevine Red Blotch Virus and its
vector(s) in California and Oregon vineyards (Main
researcher/2020-2022)
- Investigation of the impact of grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV) on
phenolic extractability and winemaking strategies to mitigate (Main
researcher/ 2019-2022)
- Impact of storage conditions (temperature, light, and bottle color) on
rose wine quality (Main researcher/ 2019-2021)
- Investigation of the impact of polymeric pigment formation on red
wine mouthfeel evolution (Collaborator/ 2018-2021)
- Elucidating the fundamental mechanism of phenolic extraction in red
wine fermentations (Main researcher/ 2016-2019)
- Collaborator on several research projects related to grape smoke
exposure (mitigation in the vineyard and in the winery, amelioration,
barrier sprays, consumer threshold levels…)
Principal Investigator: Dr. A. Oberholster.
Skills:
- Lab management
- Safety management
- Experimental design
- Grant writing
- Project planning
Publications :
- L. X. Lim, C. Medina-Plaza, I. Arias-Perez, Y. Wen, B. Neupane, J.X. Guinard, Using
instrumental measurements and sensory analysis to assess the impact of smoke
exposure on the wine matrix of different red wine varietals in California. In
preparation
- C. Medina-Plaza, L. X. Lim, A. Oberholster. Investigation of accelerated red wine
aging using micro-oxygenation in combination with barrel aging. In preparation.
C. Medina-Plaza, A. DuBois, E. Tomasino, Anita Oberholster. Impact of storage
conditions (light exposure, temperature, and bottle color) on rose wine quality.
Submitted to Food Chemistry
- C. Tan, Y. Wen, B. Neupane, L. X. Lim, C. Medina-Plaza, A. Oberholster, I.
Tagkopoulos. Volatile organic compound-based predictive modeling of smoke taint
in wine. Submitted to Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry
- A. Rumbaugh, C. Medina-Plaza, R. C. Girardello, A. Oberholster. Investigation of
enological techniques to mitigate the impact of grapevine red blotch disease on
resulting wine composition. Submitted to American Journal of Enology and
Viticulture
- A. Rumbaugh, C. Medina-Plaza, M. R. Sudarshana, A. Oberholster. Grapevine red
blotch virus alters grape skin cell-wall composition impacting phenolic extractability
during winemaking. 2023, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 103 (7),
3457-3467.
Book Chapters:
M.L. Rodríguez-Méndez, C. Apetrei, C. Medina-Plaza, R. Muñoz, J.A. de Saja.
Sensor array based on phthalocyanines: New developments on nanostructured and
biomimetic electrochemical sensors. In Multisensor systems for chemical analysis:
materials and sensors. L. Lvova, D. Kirsanov, C. Di Natale, and A. Legin. Eds. Pan
Standford Publishing Pte. Ltd. Singapore, 2014; 139-179
Conferences :
- “Discrepancy between the ability of wine experts and non-experts in identifying
grape smoke exposure impact in different wine matrices”, 15th Pangborn Sensory
Science Symposium, Nantes, (France) August 20th
-24th 2023.
- “Impact of micro-oxygenation in combination with barrel aging to shorten
maturation time”, American Chemical Society, San Francisco (CA, USA) August 13th
–
17th 2023.
- “Rose wine quality impacted by storage conditions”, American Chemical Society,
San Francisco (CA, USA) August 13th
-17th 2023.
53- “Wine matrix impact on smoke marker compound expression in wine”, American
Chemical Society, San Francisco (CA, USA) August 13th
-17th 2023.
- “Investigating the use of micro-oxygenation in combination with barrel to
accelerate red wine aging.” American Society for Enology and Viticulture 2023
National Conference, Napa (CA, USA) June 28th
-29th 2023.
- “Impact of Grapevine Red Blotch Virus infection on phenolic extractability in wine
over two growing seasons in California.” American Society for Enology and Viticulture
2023 National Conference, Napa (CA, USA) June 28th
-29th 2023.
- “Non-Destructive Spectrometric Assessment of Grape Cell Wall Composition and
Phenolic Extractability” American Society for Enology and Viticulture 2023 National
Conference, Napa (CA, USA) June 28th
-29th 2023.
- “Assessing the impact of grape smoke exposure on the wine matrix from the lens
of wine experts and consumers.” American Society for Enology and Viticulture 2023
National Conference, Napa (CA, USA) June 28th
-29th 2023.
Additional Experience :
2015
Visitor Researcher, Doctoral level.
University of California, Davis. Chemical Engineering and Material Science
Department.
Project: Quantitative doping and dedoping of conductive polymers
Supervisor: Prof. A. Moulé.
2014
Visitor Researcher, Doctoral level.
Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Project: Growth and properties of novel Au-In alloy oxide-based nanocatalysts.
Supervisor: Dr. E. Sutter.
2014-2016
Research Assistant, Doctoral level.
Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Valladolid.
Project: Development of nanostructured sensors and biosensors for the
detection of antioxidants with interest in food industry.
Supervisor: Prof. M.L. Rodriguez-Mendez.
2013-2016
Research Assistant, Doctoral level.
Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Valladolid.
Project: Development of a specific bioelectronic tongue for the analysis of the
ripening of grapes.
Supervisor: Prof. M.L. Rodriguez-Mendez