Mexican scientist Luis Herrera-Estrella is an accomplished researcher and leader in the field of plant molecular biology. While working as a PhD student, he published the first report on the genetic manipulation of plant cells. He also pioneered the development of dominant selectable markers and the use of reporter genes for plant systems, which later became the two most important tools to develop gene transfer systems for economically important crops.

He has also shown that tropical crops can be modified through biotechnology to tolerate aluminum and acid soils, significantly increasing productivity.

Currently, Dr. Herrera-Estrella is the head of the Plant Genetic Engineering Department, and Director of the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV) at Irapuato, Mexico. He established and organized this Department at the Irapuato Unit of CINVESTAV, which UNESCO later designated as their Center for Education and Training in Biotechnology for Latin America. He also created the Plant Genome Unit at CINVESTAV.

Dr. Herrera-Estrella graduated with a B.Sc. degree in biochemical engineering from the Mexican National Polytechnic Institute and later pursued a masters at the IPN's Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados. He received his PhD in plant molecular biology from the State University of Ghent, Belgium, where he also conducted postgraduate research.

Among the many honors he has received are the 1984 Minoru and Ethel Tsutsui Distinguished Graduate Research Award in Science from the New York Academy of Sciences, the 1987 Javed Husain Award from the UNESCO, the 1989 Scientific Research Prize in Natural Sciences from the Mexican National Academy of Sciences, the 1994 Award in Biology from the Third World Academy of Sciences, the 1998 RedBio Medal from the Latin American Biotechnology Network, the 2000 WIPO Medal from the World Intellectual Property Organization; and the 2002 National Award in Science, the highest recognition given to scientists by the Mexican government. In 2003, he was elected to the Mexican Academy of Sciences and to the US National Academy of Sciences as a Foreign Associate.