Genomic surveillance (long-read)
Amplicon-based PacBio circular consensus sequencing (HiFi/CCS) for full-length malaria antigens, coupled to Galaxy workflows for variant calling, phylogenetics, and multiplicity-of-infection estimation.
Research themes
Four areas define my recent work: antigen structural diversity and epitope targeting, amyloid biology at the infection–neurodegeneration interface, vaccine development informed by population diversity, and scalable genomic surveillance workflows.
Pathogen-derived amyloids & neurodegeneration
Exploring whether amyloid domain-containing proteins encoded by pathogens (including P. falciparum) can influence Alzheimer’s disease by seeding human β-amyloid aggregation, and how antibodies may modulate aggregation dynamics.
AlphaFold-enabled structural vaccinology
Applying AI-based structure prediction to model structural diversity of malaria antigens, identify conserved structural features/epitopes, and connect sequence diversity to immune recognition.
Strain-transcending malaria vaccines
Developing approaches for antigen selection that account for population-level diversity, supported by immunoprofiling with peptide arrays and serological assays.
Research outputs
Complete publication list (peer-reviewed and preprints) from my CV, with optional filters, search, and sorting.
Featured outputs
A small selection aligned with genomic surveillance, AlphaFold/structure, vaccine development, and amyloids.
CV
Professional experience, education, grants & awards, and a complete publication list.
09/2021–2025
Karolinska Institutet
Karolinska Institutet. Assistant Professor. Department of Medicine, Solna. Division of Infectious Diseases. Project title: "Development of strain-transcending vaccines against malaria using mRNA as an antigen delivery platform"
09/2019–2021
Karolinska Institutet
Karolinska Institutet. Postdoctoral scientist. Department of Medicine, Solna. Division of Infectious Diseases. Group Dr. Christopher Sundling. Project title: "Molecular epidemiology of P. falciparum and evaluation of memory B cell responses to merozoite surface proteins"
04/2018–08/2019
Fundación instituto de inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC)
Fundación instituto de inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC). Postdoctoral fellow. Department of Molecular Biology. Group Prof. Dr. Carlos Suarez. Project title: "Identification of novel receptors on the erythrocyte surface for Plasmodium falciparum invasion proteins"
11/2014–11/2017
Harvard University
Harvard University. Postdoctoral fellow. Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Group Prof. Dr. Susan Mango. Project title: "Unveiling novel factors regulating nuclear architecture and embryonic development".
06/2010–06/2014
ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich. Research and teaching assistant. Institute of Microbiology. Thesis title: "Fungus-nematode antagonistic interactions: genetic diversity and regulation of gene expression". Two master projects supervised.
07/2006–06/2008
Fundación instituto de inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC)
Fundación instituto de inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC). Research assistant. Department of tuberculosis molecular biology. Project title: "Functional characterization of anti-tuberculosis peptide-based vaccine candidates".
06/2010–06/2014
ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich. Zurich, Switzerland. PhD in Microbiology and Immunology. Institute of Microbiology. Group Prof. Dr. Markus Aebi and Dr. Markus Künzler. Thesis title: "Regulation and specificity of the Coprinopsis cinerea defensome against nematodes ".
09/2008–05/2010
Uppsala University
Uppsala University. Uppsala, Sweden. MSc in Biology (Immunology and Infection Biology). Faculty of Science and Technology. Group Prof. Dr. Sandra Kleinau. Thesis title: "Understanding the mechanisms by which B-cells escape self-tolerance: The role of CD35 and CD21 in the pathogenesis of collagen-induced arthritis".
02/2002–12/2006
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia. BSc in Biology. Department of Biology. Faculty of Science. Group Prof. Dr. Lucy Gabriela Delgado. Thesis title: "Characterizing the effect of pentamidine isethionate on the immune system using mouse splenocytes as an experimental model".
† Corresponding authorship. * Shared first co-authorship (as indicated in the CV).
Methods & tools
Hands-on wet-lab and computational experience spanning immunology, protein work, microscopy, sequencing, and data analysis platforms.
Wet lab
Cell culture and cell-based assays · in vitro toxicity and efficacy assays (including C. elegans models) · ELISA · western blot · FACS · qRT-PCR · NGS: long-read amplicon sequencing (PacBio CCS) and RNA-seq · recombinant protein expression and purification (Pichia pastoris, E. coli) · FPLC (ÄKTA) · microscopy (light · fluorescence · confocal · immunoelectron microscopy) · animal husbandry.
Data analysis
R · Python · Galaxy · UCSC Genome Browser · CellQuest · Clone Manager · Serial Cloner · CLC Genomics Workbench · GlycoWorkbench · PyMOL · Cluster 3 · Java Tree View · Zeiss Zen · ImageJ · Prism.
AI in my workflow
I use AI-based structural modeling (including AlphaFold-based approaches) to connect antigen sequence diversity to structural diversity and epitope accessibility, supporting antigen selection for strain-transcending vaccine designs.
Teaching & supervision
Teaching includes doctoral and undergraduate programs, with a recurring focus on immunology, parasitology, and AI-assisted structural vaccinology.
Selected teaching roles
Main course organizer for “Clinical and Molecular Parasitology and Mycology” (doctoral program; lecture on AI-assisted structural vaccinology and strain-transcending malaria vaccine challenges). Coordinator of the Research Application and Scientific Writing Assignment in “Molecular Medicine: Cardiometabolic and Infectious Diseases” (bachelor program).
Project supervision (examples)
Supervision includes master and PhD-level projects in malaria immunology and antigen diversity (including MSP2-focused projects), alongside earlier supervision roles during PhD/postdoc training.
Project management training
I am enrolled in the Google Project Management Professional Certificate (Coursera), covering project documentation across the life cycle, stakeholder management, and Agile/Scrum fundamentals.
What the training emphasizes
Project charters and scope · stakeholder analysis and communication planning · risk and quality management · budgeting and procurement basics · Agile concepts (Scrum roles/events/artifacts).
How I apply it in research settings
Clear project documentation, practical planning, and structured communication support cross-institutional collaborations, platform development, and coordinating experimental + computational workstreams.
Contact
If you’d like to discuss collaboration, platform sharing, or speaking/teaching opportunities, feel free to reach out.