BEE Fall 2026 Seminar Series - Dr. Pablo Cárdenas Ramírez, R.F. Smith School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University

Synthetic and computational biology tools for bioengineering in an evolving world

Abstract

Biological systems pose a design challenge unique among engineering disciplines: evolution. We can find examples of the challenges evolution poses for bioengineering across different applications, including cancer therapy, biomanufacturing, and microbiome engineering for agriculture, among many others. The Multiscale Evolutionary Engineering Lab researches ways to design biosystems that are robust and effective in an evolving world by integrating understanding from the molecular to the metapopulation level. This talk will discuss synthetic biology and computational simulation tools to study and engineer pathogens, perhaps the most striking instances of evolutionary engineering problems. The first is a synthetic biology toolbox allowing robust control of gene transcription in malaria parasites for the first time, used for validating antimalarial compound targets and vaccine engineering. The second is a flexible computational simulation platform capable of combining epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of pathogen genomes, used to study the determinants of pathogen evolution. By creating multi-scale experimental and computational models, we can engineer more effective and resilient interventions across biomedicine, biomanufacturing, and the environment.

Bio

A native of Bogotá, Colombia, Pablo Cárdenas Ramírez obtained an undergraduate degree at Universidad de los Andes, dipping toes in computational, experimental, and field work in biology. He left Bogotá for research stints in France and the U.S. before obtaining a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Biological Engineering, where he developed synthetic and computational biology techniques for manipulating malaria parasites and studying pathogen epidemiology and evolution. He worked briefly on viral immunity and evolution as a postdoctoral fellow at the Ragon Institute and Harvard Medical School.