She also holds appointments as a Professor at the University of Puerto Rico and at the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research. She is the winner of the Roi Baudouin Award given by the International Foundation for Science, and the Medal of Merit given by the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research. She is also a fellow at the Infectious disease society of America and a fellow at the American Academy of Microbiology. Her research is focused on how modern practices in Western lifestyles impact the microbiome, and its differences with traditional societies' microbiomes.