Kristel obtained a licentiate degree in Biological Chemistry at the University San Carlos de Guatemala in 2009, and then did a PhD in Medical Sciences at Kumamoto University (Japan), where she characterized and isolated monoclonal antibodies against HIV-1 in 2015. She then moved to Turkey, where she worked as an Assistant Professor of Medical Microbiology at Altinbas University for two years. She joined the Immunogenetics Group as Postdoctoral Scientist in March 2019 working on the antibody response to FMDV as part of a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation project.