Diversity in Life Sciences

Dr. César de la Fuente is a Presidential Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he leads the Machine Biology Group. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and earned a PhD at the University of British Columbia (UBC). His research goal is to use the power of machines to accelerate the discovery of antibiotics. Specifically, he pioneered the development of the first computer-designed antibiotic with efficacy in animal models, demonstrating the utility of AI for antibiotic discovery and helping launch this emerging field. His lab is also on the vanguard of developing computational methods for proteome mining, yielding the discovery of a whole new world of antimicrobials from the human proteome and dramatically accelerating the discovery of preclinical candidates, from years to hours. De la Fuente’s group was also the first to find therapeutic molecules in extinct organisms, launching the field of molecular de-extinction. Additional advances from his lab include designing algorithms for antibiotic discovery, reprogramming venoms into antimicrobials, creating novel resistance-proof antimicrobial materials, and inventing rapid, low-cost diagnostic devices for COVID-19 and other infections. He has co-authored a book on machine learning for drug discovery, has multiple patents and over 130 publications, including papers in Science, Cell Host Microbe, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Nature Communications, PNAS, ACS Nano, Cell, Nature Chemical Biology, and Advanced Materials. 

Prof. de la Fuente is an NIH MIRA investigator and has received over 65 national and international awards for his work. He is an elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), as one of the youngest ever to be inducted. He was recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of the world’s top innovators for “digitizing evolution to make better antibiotics.” His many awards include the inaugural recipient of the Langer Prize, ACS Kavli Emerging Leader in Chemistry, AIChE’s 35 Under 35 Award, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Young Investigator Award, Thermo Fisher Award and many other young investigator and early career achievement awards. Most recently, he was selected as a National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine.