Profile

I was born and raised in Ecuador and moved to the U.S. to get my Bachelor’s in Chemistry and my Ph.D. in Chemical Biology at Princeton University. I am currently in the UK completing a postdoc (a “short” research stint after my Ph.D.) at Cambridge. In the lab, I am happiest when learning new techniques and thinking about the chemistry behind things. In my free time, I enjoy running, rock climbing, cooking, and listening to copious amounts of music. I am also an amateur photographer and a lover of bubble tea and good honey.

I am particularly interested in using chemistry to study a biomolecule called RNA. I study how small chemical modifications in the building blocks of RNA can exert a large effect on gene expression. As a chemist, I want to understand these pathways through a molecular perspective, so my research involves the creation of new chemical tools to uncover the presence and function of these modifications. I am also very interested in using chemistry to study the structure of RNA molecules (i.e. how the fold) in various contexts, such as viral infections and RNA therapeutics.

My work in lab consists of lots of “wet science,” which basically means I carry out scientific experiments with my own hands, typically involving chemicals and biomolecules. I use these experiments to draw conclusions in areas of research I’m interested in, which will hopefully help us answer questions in areas of chemistry and biology we don’t know much about yet. I also spend a lot of time thinking (e.g., about how to design the best experiments to answer a particular question or about new areas I want to venture into), reading the scientific literature, and finding effective ways of communicating my science to various audiences. Meetings with lab members or other scientists to exchange ideas are also a vital component of my routine.