César de la Fuente, PhD profile page

Dr. César de la Fuente is a presidential associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he leads the Machine Biology Group. He completed postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and earned a PhD from the University of British Columbia (UBC). He is best known for pioneering computational and artificial intelligence approaches to antibiotic discovery, which have drastically accelerated the time needed to identify preclinical candidates, from years to hours. These candidates show promise for therapeutic intervention against currently untreatable infections. Moreover, he spearheaded the discovery of therapeutic molecules from extinct organisms, and his lab has uncovered a myriad of novel peptide molecules across the tree of life, revealing a previously unrecognized branch of host immunity. De la Fuente has received numerous awards for his contributions, including the Princess of Girona Prize and the Fleming Prize. He is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a Sloan Fellow and a National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leader. De la Fuente has authored more than 180 publications and holds multiple patents.