Mishelle Rivera-Santos, M.S., holds a bachelor's degree in industrial microbiology and a master's degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus. During her graduate studies, Rivera-Santos conducted research with John Uscian on protein extraction from the silk snapper Lutjanus vivanus. Later, she worked with Eduardo Schröeder on research related to water quality monitoring of the Yagüez River. Rivera-Santos worked for 10 years in the allied health sciences field. Since 2010, Rivera-Santos has been a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus.