⚗︎ Food Science & Biotech
Tana H. Barrueta, Ph.D.
Turning complex food and microbial systems into stable, scalable, and industry-ready products.
Turning complex food and microbial systems into stable, scalable, and industry-ready products.
Tana H. Barrueta, PhD
Formulation | Product Dev | Encapsulation | AI & ML
Formulation science
AI & ML
Product development
Encapsulation
7+ years of Food & Biotech R&D
1 launched company
3 food products in the market
7+ years of Food & Biotech R&D ⚬ 1 launched company ⚬ 3 food products in the market
Skills
✢ Management
Skills
Lab Ops
SOP development
Personnel training & mentoring
Procurement & vendor coord
Lab Ops
Project coordination
SOP development
Personnel training & mentoring
Procurement & vendor coordination
⚗︎ Product & Process Development
Project coordination
Recipe formulation
Sensory evaluations
Failure
analysis
Shelf life modeling & estimation
Recipe formulation
Failure analysis
◉ Encapsulation & Characterization
Shelf life modeling & estimation
Sensory evaluations
Spray drying
Vacuum-assisted infusion
Microbiology
Spray drying
DSC
Rheology
Fluid bed
coating
Gelling
LC-MS/MS
FTIR
Gelling
⚙︎ Stats & ML
DOE
LC-MS/MS
Fluid bed coating
Vacuum-assisted infusion
Inferential stats
ML models PCA/PLSDA/HCA/Random Forest
DSC
Survival analysis for shelf life modeling
Rheology
Microbiology
Sensometrics
FTIR
Regression
models
Inferential stats
DOE
ML models PCA/PLSDA/HCA/Random Forest
Survival analysis
Regression models
Sensometrics
Projects
Experience
⚙︎ Industry | ✧ Leadership | ❋ Research
⚙︎ Microbial Formulation Scientist Intern
2024 | Native Microbials | San Diego, CA
Diagnosed fluid bed coater issues by applying logistic regression to process parameters; implemented a mitigation strategy that reduced coating trials by 25%(from 4 to 3 hours).
Developed SOPs for fluid bed operation and physical characterization of solid microbial formulations (friability, apparent density, and melting temperature).
Characterized physical properties of microbial formulations (designed to enhance cattle milk yield), generating data to support manufacturing scale-up at CMO facilities.
2024 | Native Microbials | San Diego, CA
⚙︎ Microbial Formulation Scientist Intern
2024 | Native Microbials | San Diego, CA
⚙︎ Founder and Product Developer
2020 | Fitnut MX | Mexico
Founded and operated a peanut butter brand; developed three formulations targeting defined sensory, nutritional, and shelf-life specifications.
Manufactured and sold 360 units in 5 months, generating $31,000+ MXN in revenue.
Managed end-to-end operations including ingredient sourcing, supplier negotiation, inventory control, and small-batch production.
⚙︎ Founder and Product Developer
2020 | Fitnut MX | Merida, Mexico
✧ President - Food Science Graduate Student Association
2023-2025 | UC Davis | Davis, CA
Served as primary liaison between 40+ graduate students, faculty, and industry representatives on the FST Leadership Board, facilitating communication across groups.
Managed a $4K annual association budget, overseeing fund allocation for events, catering, and student activities.
Organized annual community events including the "Building Industry Connections" workshop (30+ attendees) and Spring Graduation Celebration (40+ attendees), handling venue bookings, catering, speaker coordination, and logistics.
✧ President - Food Science Graduate Student Association
2023-2025 | UC Davis | Davis, CA
✧ Student Rep - Recruitment Committee, Food Science Graduate Group
2021-2024 | UC Davis | Davis, CA
Organized annual recruitment events, including dinner gatherings and student flash talk sessions, to connect prospective and current graduate students with the program.
Coordinated a peer mentorship program pairing incoming students with current graduate students to support onboarding and community integration.
✧ Student Rep - Recruitment Committee, Food Science Graduate Group
❋ Graduate Student Researcher
2020-2026 | UC Davis | Davis, CA
2021-2024 | UC Davis | Davis, CA
Applied research
Co-invented a method to convert omega-3 fatty acids into anti-inflammatory lipids using milk fat globules as bioreactors — led to a pending US patent.
Applied ML models to identify the critical process parameters driving efficiency of encapsulating lipid-soluble compounds into milk fat globules, reducing the need for trial-and-error experimentation.
Developed a shelf-stable fermented gel with probiotics encapsulated at 10⁹ CFU/g — formulation improved intestinal recovery by 90% vs. unencapsulated controls and maintained viability for 60 days at room temperature.
Screened 135 plant protein-starch formulations (pea, lentil, faba bean) to map fermentation-induced gelation behavior and identify ratios for structure formation.
Management
Implemented a lab housekeeping roster for ~12 members, coordinating supply ordering, cleaning, and equipment maintenance.
Led procurement, installation, and onboarding for major capital equipment including a freeze dryer and rheometer.
Developed SOPs for onboarding and offboarding of lab members.
Mentored four undergraduate researchers in experimental design and data analysis.
❋ Graduate Student Researcher
2020-2026 | UC Davis | Davis, CA
❋ Research Visiting Scholar
2018-2019 | University of Illinois | Urbana-Champaign, IL
Developed a ready-to-drink green tea with probiotics encapsulated in spray-dried protein matrices.
Identified a predictive relationship between color parameters and sensory shelf life, enabling rapid quality monitoring.
Education
❋ Research Visiting Scholar
2018-2019 | University of Illinois | Urbana-Champaign, IL
PhD, Food Science
University of California, Davis
MS, Food Science and Technology
Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro
BS, Biotechnology Engineering
Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan
PhD, Food Science - University of California, Davis
MS, Food Science and Technology - Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro
BS, Biotechnology Engineering - Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan
Image-based method using survival analysis and remote consumer testing to predict shelf life without expensive lab setups.