Guarín holds a PhD in Social Welfare from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master's in Social Work from the same university, Sociologist and Social Communicator from the Universidad Javeriana-Bogotá. Her research interests include the study of changes in families, child and family social policies, vulnerable populations, poverty, inequality, and gender studies. She has recently advanced studies on the food quota system in Colombia and other countries from a comparative perspective; changes in family structures and their consequences, as well as their implications for family social policies; gender violence and social protection and migration.