Our Research and Education

Our research group employs experimental and computational tools to explore the protein sequence-structure-dynamics-function relationships in proteins and enzymes of biomedical and biotechnological interests. Our laboratory is located at the Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering (IIBM) from P. Universidad Católica de Chile, and we are also members of the Millenium Institute of Integrative Biology (iBio).

Our research is mainly funded by the National Agency for Research and Development of Chile (ANID) and focuses on:

  1. Elucidating the mechanism of structural interconversion of metamorphic proteins involved in bacterial infections (virulence factor RfaH), circadian cycles (cyanobacterial protein KaiB) and human diseases (P subfamily of Fox transcription factors) – FONDECYT 2020 Regular Grant 1201684.
  2. Discovery, functional and structural characterization and engineering of metagenomic enzymes that degrade PET, a widely used plastic that accumulates as waste at similar rates to its production – ANID-FAPESP International Cooperation Grant 2019/13259-9.
  3. Development, production and optimization of open-source kits (RT-PCR/RT-LAMP/RPA) based on public domain enzymes for the molecular detection of viral infections, such as COVID-19, for their potential use in diagnostics – ANID-CONCYTEC International Cooperation Grant covbio0012.
Our collaborations include the Biomolecular and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility (BPMSF) and the Komives Lab at University of California San Diego, the Artsimovitch Lab at Ohio State University, the Group of Crystallography at the Sao Carlos Institute of Physics from Universidad de Sao Paulo, the labs of Molecular Microbiology and Single-Molecule at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, the Protein Physiology Lab at Universidad de Buenos Aires, the Díez Lab and Open Technology Lab at P. Universidad Católica de Chile and the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Lab at Universidad de Chile. 

We are also one of the organizers of the Latin American conference Protein Biophysics at the End of the World.

Principal Investigator

Cesar A. Ramirez-Sarmiento
Associate Professor, Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering (IIBM), P. Universidad Catolica de Chile

Adjunct Researcher, Millenium Institute for Integrative Biology (iBio)

EMBO Global Investigator (2023-2026)

The Protein Society Executive Councilor (2022-2025)

BSc Biology – Universidad de Chile

PhD Sciences in Mol. Cell. Biology & Neurosciences – Universidad de Chile

Meet our Research Team

Aransa Griñen

Doctoral Student

Biological and Medical Engineering, UC Chile
Working on: AI-enabled design of PET hydrolases

Cyndi Tabilo

Doctoral Student

Biological and Medical Engineering, UC Chile
Working on: Evolution of metamorphic proteins

Javiera Avilés

Doctoral Student

Biological and Medical Engineering, UC Chile
Working on: Biological upcycling of PET

Valeria Eltit

Doctoral Student

Biological and Medical Engineering, UC Chile
Working on: Characterization of PET-degrading enzymes

Camila Neira

Doctoral Student

Biological and Medical Engineering, UC Chile
Working on: AI-enabled design of metamorphic proteins

Jorge Gonzalez

Doctoral Student

Biological and Medical Engineering, UC Chile
Working on: Local frustration in fold-switching proteins

Nicolas Nuñez

Doctoral Student

Engineering Sciences, UC Chile
Working on: Whole-cell biocatalysis of indigoids

Javiera Reyes

Doctoral Student

Engineering Sciences, UC Chile
Working on: In vivo biophysics of RfaH fold-switching

J. Alejandro Molina

Doctoral Student

Engineering Sciences, UC Chile
Working on: Design of metamorphic biosensors

Ignacio Retamal

Master Student

Engineering Sciences, UC Chile
Working on: Computational biophysics of KaiB

Valentina Vera

Undergraduate Student

Biochemistry, UC Chile
Working on: Active site engineering of PET hydrolases

Damaris Palomera

Undergraduate Student

Biochemistry, UC Chile
Working on: Identification of metamorphic proteins

Alumni

Amparo Núñez

Amparo Núñez

Research Assistant

Now: Protein Engineer, GeaEnzymes

Maira Rivera

Maira Rivera

ANID Postdoctoral Researcher

Now: Postdoctoral Researcher, McGill University, Canada

Felipe Engelberger

Felipe Engelberger

Undergraduate researcher

Now: PhD student, Institute for Drug Discovery, Leipzig University, Germany

Paula Blázquez-Sánchez

Paula Blázquez-Sánchez

PhD student

Now: Researcher, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Leipzig University

Pablo Galaz-Davison

Pablo Galaz-Davison

PhD Student

Now: Postdoctoral Researcher, Universidad de Talca

Felipe Gatica

Felipe Gatica

Undergraduate Student

Now: FONDEF VIU Applicant, Universidad de Santiago de Chile

Latest News

Have a blast in UCSD, Maira!

Our postdoctoral superstar, Maira Rivera, successfully applied for a PROLAB (Promoting Research Opportunities for Latin American Biochemists) fellowship, funded by ASBMB, IUBMB and PABMB. She will be visiting the laboratory of our long-standing collaborator and Read more…

Contact Us

Inst. Biological & Medical Engineering
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Avenida Vicuña Mackenna 4860
Science and Technology Building, 7th Floor
Santiago 7820436, Chile

Primary email: pb3@ing.uc.cl
Additional email: crslabuc@gmail.com
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