Carla Brenda Maldonado Goyzueta received her B.S. degree in Biology from the
Universidad Mayor de San Andrés. She later earned her master's degree in Biology from the
University of Aarhus and her Ph.D. in Genomics and Evolution from the
University of Copenhagen. Her Ph.D. thesis became a basis for her published book
The Quest for Cinchona: A Phylogenetic Approach to Understanding the Evolution, Natural Variation and Discovery of Cinchona Bark for the Treatment of Malaria. Maldonado was part of the Madidi Project to inventory flowers of National Parks and Protected Areas of the Madidi region. Maldonado has done taxonomic work with the
Rubiaceae and
Ericaceae families. One of her most renowned studies is that related to the genus
Cinchona, among which are her studies on
Cinchona calisaya, from which
quinine is extracted, as part of her doctoral thesis and the discovery of a new species called
Cinchona anderssonii in 2017. These and other studies are focused on the healing properties of this genus, related to the cure of
malaria. ==Awards and honors==