Curriculum Vitae

Built a parallelized modular image pipeline for analyzing 150+ TMA cores, including new methods for noise reduction, quantification, and thresholding
Developed composite method to segment 65k cells in 1mm biopsies, capturing diverse morphologies without retraining neural network
Trained random forest to enable generalized automated thresholding with spatial data (F1 = 0.93, n = 16k), avoiding manual user annotations

Doctoral Student
Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin
2023 – 24 | Berlin, Germany

Adapted ecological differential equations set to model inflammation

Doctoral Fellow
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
2019 – 23 | Berlin, Germany

Developed an end-to-end image analysis pipeline by self-teaching Python, Java, and R, enabling single-click analysis
Applied phase portrait analysis to molecular dynamics with physicists
Trained 13 experimentalists in computing, transforming the lab to data-driven research
Cultured mammalian cell lines, functionalized supported lipid bilayers, and used TIRF microscopy to image reconstituted cell-cell interactions

Graduate Research Assistant
Synthetic Biology Lab (Sebastian Schmidl), Texas A&M International University
2016 – 18 | Laredo, Texas, USA

Evolved E. coli to >10,000× higher ampicillin MIC, deriving a model of antibiotic resistance dynamics
Ran 200+ proteome comparisons for new astrobiological signatures

Research Assistant II
Matrix Biology Lab (Raghu Kalluri), MD Anderson Cancer Center
2014 – 15 | Houston, Texas, USA | 40h/wk

Investigated the link between fibrosis and cancer using mice models; contributions acknowledged in Nature and Science Signaling
Independently performed breeding, genotyping, western blots, microscopy, and histology
Managed procurement (~$50,000/year)
Designed system to organize and genetically screen 1000+ mice cages

Undergraduate Researcher
Kebaara, Trawick, Danley and Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics & Engineering Research labs, Baylor University
2009 – 14 | Waco, Texas, USA

Discovered (first-author) NMD regulates normal mRNA with unusually long 3’-UTRs
Tested drug efficacy against Chagas disease and tumor invasion using western blots and IC-50 assays
Developed image analysis scripts to track dusty plasma and measure cichlid melanin coverage

Education

Ph.D. (Dr. rer. nat.) in Theoretical Biophysics, Magna cum laude
Humboldt University of Berlin
2020 – 24 | Germany

M.Sc. in Biology
Texas A&M International University
2016 – 17 | USA

B.Sc. in Biology, Minor in World Affairs
Baylor University
2009 – 14 | USA

Awards

Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship – US Department of State
2025 – Present | USA
Top 13%.

First Place, Public Choice – Helmholtz Association
2025 | Germany
Scientific image, top 1%. Awarded €600

Full-Ride Scholarship (Physiology Course) – Marine Biological Laboratory
2022 – 23 | USA
Top 15%. Awarded $8,595

Public Policy

Participant, Technical Community
United Nations Internet Governance Forum
2023 – Present | Rotating

Discussed implications of AI for biomedical research, food security, and weapons of mass destruction

Scientific Advisor
Independent
2020 | Remote | 15h/wk

Forecasted COVID-19 spread for Laredo City Council (pop. 255k) to plan state/federal aid
Featured in TV/radio interview on COVID-19 forecasts
Presented COVID-19 projections for Puerto Rico (pop. 3.3M) on state TV

Publications

Full list: Link

Languages

Spanish (native)
English (native)
German (CEFR B1)
Italian (CEFR B1)

Skills & Expertise

Experimental

Molecular biology (PCR, western blots), cell cultures (mammalian, yeast, bacterial)
Drug discovery (IC-50), antibiotic resistance (MIC)
Mice (surgery, histology, protocol writing)

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

PyTorch, TensorFlow, Caret (R)
Classification, dimensionality reduction, regression analysis

Data Science

Python (numpy, pandas, ray, matplotlib, scikit, scipy, SciJava, Pillow)
R (tidyverse, data.table, parallel, ggplot2)
HPC (SLURM), cloud computing (Google Colab)

Image Analysis

Python (OpenCV, scikit-image), ImageJ/FIJI
Segmentation, particle tracking, noise reduction, TMA analysis, colocalization, 3D reconstruction, texture analysis

Bioinformatics

Comparative proteomics, genomics, sequence alignment, plasmid design

Clinical Medicine

Ethics committee (IRB) protocols, patient data collection, molecular diagnostics, epidemiology

Microscopy

Light, confocal, total internal reflection (TIRF-M), scanning electron (SEM), structured illumination (SIM)

Google Sites

Report abuse