Chemical Engineer and PhD in Biotechnology with a specialty in Food Science and Engineering, she is an Associate Professor at the Escola Superior de Biotechnology, Deputy Director for Internationalization and responsible for the 3rd study cycles. She teaches food technologies and transfer phenomena. She is responsible for the CBQF's “Food Processing Engineering” research laboratory. In 2022, she was distinguished internationally in the field of food engineering and technology through the election as a Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology (IAFoST), the highest international recognition for her contribution to the advancement and coordination of teaching in science and food engineering worldwide, and her research work in the area of modelling and optimization of food processes.
Cristina Silva chairs the IUFoST (International Union of Food Science and Technology) education working group 1.2 on Emerging Issues, Main Areas of Work. She was also the founder, and leader for 9 years, of the ISEKI-Food network that included more than 150 higher education institutions in the field of food science and engineering from more than 100 countries on all continents. She is currently a member of the advisory board of the ISEKI-Food International Association, editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Food Studies and associate editor of the Journal of Food Process Engineering, Brazilian Journal of Food Technology and Foods.