Researcher Lucía Díez will soon be joining the University of Barcelona to study how agro-ecological transformations impact on cultural, social and gender relations. Díez is one of the winners of the third edition of the Daniel Carasso Fellowship , a grant of 160,000 euros, which covers the hiring of researchers and their research activity for two years. 
Applying interdisciplinary and participatory methodologies, Díez will bring together two growing fields of research: on the one hand, social metabolism, which analyses the flows of energy and materials between society and nature, and, on the other, the biocultural approach, to explore the relationships between the biological and cultural aspects of people. She aims to understand the factors that favour or hinder the agro-ecological transition by integrating the knowledge of producers to design strategies that make sustainable food possible.
The other two winners in this edition were Alba Aguión, who will join the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and Francisco Javier Álvarez, who will join the Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Health Biotechnology at the Miguel Hernández University in Elche.
The Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation recognizes projects that use rigorous and participatory methodologies to combine scientific evidence and social impact, this time in fields as diverse as the governance of small producers, the revaluation of waste and rural anthropology.
