Gloria is originally from a tiny town in the west of Mexico, called Cofradía, where her passion towards living creatures started. At the age of 15, she moved to the city of Puerto Vallarta to study her high school and remained there to study her bachelor’s degree in biology in the Universitary Center of the Coast, University of Guadalajara.

When Gloria turned 21, she had the opportunity to travel to Argentina as an exchange student for one semester and when she returned to Mexico in 2013, she started her social service in the Laboratory of Aquaculture and Water Quality of her University where she carried out research regarding the freshwater fauna of the surrounding rivers of the Banderas Bay. She also collaborated with the zoo of the city as a plant identifier, since the zoo is immersed in the tropical forest. 

Her undergraduate thesis was focused on the use of a marine crab as source of pigments for the very well-known koi carp. After graduating, Gloria started to work in environmental consulting in the Riviera Maya, in the Southeast of Mexico, and afterwards moved to Ireland to continue her studies.

Now as Master student in KAUST, Gloria is currently involved in a project regarding genetic connectivity in fishes. Her interests involve General Ecology, Biodiversity and population dynamics of reef communities in the Red Sea.