Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad de Desarrollo, Adjunct Professor, University of Texas, Houston, USA

José is a surgeon from the Universidad de los Andes, Chile. After completing his training in Internal Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad de Desarrollo, Dr. Munita moved to the United States where he completed a Clinical Fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Texas, Houston. After completing his subspecialty, José completed a 3-year postdoc during which he studied the molecular mechanisms of resistance in enterococcus and staphylococcus.

He currently serves as Director of the Genomics and Microbial Resistance Group (GeRM) at the Institute for Science and Innovation in Medicine (ICIM) of the Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad de Desarrollo, where he is an Associate Professor. In addition, Dr. Munita works as an infectious disease specialist at the Padre Hurtado Hospital and the Clínica Alemana in Santiago, and is Adjunct Professor at the Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Genomics (CARMIG) at the University of Texas, Houston, where he is Director of International Projects. José has published more than 40 original articles and book chapters, most of them in prestigious international journals.

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Professor School of Veterinary Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Andrea studied Veterinary Medicine at the University of Concepción and a Master’s degree in Microbiology at the same university under the supervision of another of the MICROB-R researchers, Gerardo González-Rocha. Andrea then moved to the United States where she obtained a PhD in Food Science and Technology from Cornell University, NY in 2013.

Currently, Dr. Moreno is a professor at the newly formed School of Veterinary Medicine at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Previously, she was an Associate Professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine of the Universidad Andrés Bello.

Andrea has been recognized as an expert by multiple national and international agencies and organizations; she is currently a member of the Animal Health and Production study group of FONDECYT and a member of the FAO/WHO expert panel on resistance in foodborne pathogens.

Finally, Andrea is the responsible researcher of FONDECYT Regular and is the Director of a FONDEF project. Dr Moreno has published more than 36 articles in indexed journals, which have been cited more than 1,300 times.

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Professor at the University of Concepción

Dr. González-Rocha has a degree in Biology from the University of Concepción, where he later completed a Master’s degree in Microbiology and a PhD in Biological Sciences in the area of Cellular and Molecular Biology.

He carried out research stays at the University of Dundee and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Gerardo is a professor and Postgraduate Director of the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Concepción, where he is also Director of the Laboratory of Research on Antibacterial Agents (LIAA).

Dr. González is a national reference in bacterial resistance research, particularly in areas related to the study of Gram-negative bacteria such as Acinetobacterbaumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and enterobacteria.

It is worth mentioning that more than 50 young scientists have passed through LIAA to carry out their Master’s or PhD theses under the supervision of Dr. González-Rocha or of recognized members of his team.

Gerardo has been the principal investigator of multiple research projects, including calls by FONDECYT, FONDEF, INNOVA and INACH, and has published more than 80 articles in mainstream journals.

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Associate Professor Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso

Jorge studied Biology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and then moved to Spain where he obtained a Master and a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, in the laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Antibacterial Resistance at the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC).

His studies focused on the study of multiple drug delivery pumps in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and their relationship with the development of antibacterial resistance. In this same centre Jorge worked as a post-doctoral researcher and in his 6 years of stay in Spain he participated in the most important projects of basic science in bacterial resistance of the European Community: PAR (Prediction of Antibiotic Resistance) and EVOTAR (Evolution and Transfer of Antibiotic Resistance).

On his return to Chile, he took up the position of professor at the Institute of Biology of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, where he directs the laboratory of Antibacterial Resistance in Pathogenic and Environmental Bacteria.

Currently, his research is focused on understanding the interaction between the clinical-environment-veterinary health interface, with emphasis on the use of antimicrobials in aquaculture and the use of water resources. Jorge has published more than 25 scientific papers and is a permanent advisor on antibacterial resistance issues for the National Fisheries Service (SERNAPESCA) and the Salmon Technology Institute (INTESAL). Finally, he participates as a permanent evaluator for CONICYT, INACH and the European Antarctic Science Agency.

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Assistant Professor at the School of Government, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Eduardo A. Undurraga is a Civil Hydraulic Engineer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Master in Latin American Social and Political Studies from the Universidad Alberto Hurtado, and PhD in Social Policy from Brandeis University, Massachusetts, USA. He worked as a researcher in health economics and infectious disease modeling at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and at the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy, Brandeis University, USA, where he is currently a Visiting Research Scholar. In 2017, he was a finalist for CDC’s Kaafee Billah Early Career Award. His research is at the intersection of human health, social science and public policy.

Dr. Arias is a physician with a specialty in infectious diseases from El Bosque University in Bogotá, Colombia. He has a Master’s degree in Clinical Microbiology from the University of London, and PhD in Microbial Biochemistry and Molecular Microbiology from the University of Cambridge in England. He is the director and founder of the Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Genomics (CARMiG), at McGovern School of Medicine; and director of the Center for Infectious Diseases, at the School of Public Health (both at the University of Texas, Houston). He is also Director of the Unit of Genetics and Antimicrobial Resistance and of the International Center for Microbial Genomics at El Bosque University; and an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad de Desarrollo. 

Dr. Arias’ research includes NIH-funded projects to investigate the molecular basis of resistance to the antibiotic of last resort daptomycin, the development of new non-traditional approaches to characterize emerging mechanisms of resistance in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and the study of the population structure of multi-drug resistant bacteria with an international perspective. His research seeks to develop translation tools (mainly genomics) to help diagnose and treat resistant organisms. His scientific work has resulted in more than 150 publications, including key documents in the New England Journal of Medicine, and outstanding books such as the “Harrison’s Internal Medicine Textbook” and “Mandell’s Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases”. In addition, he serves as editor of prestigious scientific publications.

Researcher in the Genomics and Microbial Resistance (GeRM) group at the Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo

Rafael studied medicine at the Universidad de Los Andes, Santiago, Chile. He later did a specialty in Internal Medicine at the University of Chile and a subspecialty in Adult Infectious Diseases at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

After finishing his clinical training, he obtained a Master’s degree in Medical Sciences at Harvard University, Boston, and completed a post-doctoral stay in clinical research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, at the same University. For the past 6 years, Rafael has been involved in the study of antimicrobial resistance, focusing primarily on risk or protective factors for the acquisition of resistant bacteria and the role of the intestinal microbione in resistance to colonization by these bacteria.

Currently, Dr. Araos is a researcher in the Genomics and Microbial Resistance (GeRM) group at the Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad de Desarrollo and is leading a study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that seeks to determine the burden of intestinal colonization by resistant bacteria in Chile. Rafael’s work has been published in some of the most relevant journals and books in his field.

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Associate Professor, Genomics and Microbial Resistance Group (GeRM), Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad de Desarrollo

Dr. Díaz studied Bacteriology at the Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca in Bogotá, Colombia and then a PhD in Biological Sciences at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in the same city, where she focused particularly on the study of molecular resistance mechanisms in S. aureus using vertebrate and invertebrate animal models. After that, Dr. Diaz has dedicated herself fundamentally to the sequencing and analysis of resistant bacterial genomes for which she conducted training at Columbia University and the Sackler Institute in New York and at the Jackson Laboratory in Connecticut, both in the United States. She is currently professor and Coordinator of the International Center for Microbial Genomics of the Unit of Genetics and Antimicrobial Resistance (UGRA) at the Universidad El Bosque, Bogotá, and is an Associate Professor of the Genomics and Microbial Resistance Group (GeRM) at the Institute for Science and Innovation in Medicine (ICIM) of the Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad de Desarrollo. Lorena has published more than thirty original articles in the most prestigious scientific journals including mBio and the New England Journal of Medicine, which have been cited on more than 2400 occasions.

Dr. Bello is a Biochemist from the University of Concepción, with a PhD in Biological Sciences in the area of Cellular and Molecular Biology, and a Master of Science with a mention in Microbiology, both obtained at the same university. Currently, she is a professor at the same university, where she has been elected for two consecutive periods as Director of the Department of Microbiology of the Faculty of Biological Sciences. 

Dr. Bello’s research has been focused on studying the mechanisms that bacteria have developed to resist antibiotics, especially in BLEE and carbapenemase-producing enterobacteria. In this context, she has directed 34 undergraduate theses, 24 master’s and 4 doctoral; research that has allowed her to have more than 100 publications and international recognition from specialized media, with requests for correction of scientific papers from important journals such as Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Journal Antarctic Science and Journal Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials, among others.

Research Professor at the Department of Ecology and Biodiversity, Faculty of Life Sciences Andrés Bello University

Julio holds a PhD in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology from the University of Montpellier, France, where he also holds a Master’s degree in Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity and a Bachelor’s degree in Population Biology and Ecology.  Later, he did postdoctoral studies at Montana State University, USA; Glasgow University, Scotland; and Universidade Estadual Paulista- UNESP, Brazil. Since 2018 he has been Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Life Sciences, UNAB and is an Affiliated Researcher at the University of Glasgow. In 2016, he received the “Georges Baer” award for Young Latin American Researcher at the Rabies in the Americas conference (RITA, Belém, Brazil).

Director of the Social Studies in Health Program, Institute for Science and Innovation in Medicine (ICIM), Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo

Báltica was initially trained as a Nurse-Midwife and later obtained a Master in Epidemiology from PUC-Chile and finally a PhD in Health Sciences, mention in Social Epidemiology, from York University, UK. 

Currently, she is professor and Director of the Social Studies in Health Program at the Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad de Desarrollo and is a visiting scholar at the Department of Health Sciences at York University, UK. 

Báltica is a member of the international child welfare network, INRICH, and the global migration health network, MADHRI (both by invitation). She was the winner of the Santander El Mercurio 2017 Award, category Young Researcher in International Migrant Health, and was Vice President of the Chilean Society of Epidemiology between 2014 and 2017. Baltica has participated in more than 30 research projects and has more than 120 scientific publications.

Professor, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Patricia studied Medicine at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile with a specialization in Clinical Laboratory with a mention in Microbiology at the same university, and a visiting program at the Microbiology Laboratory of the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, USA.

Currently, Dr. García is a professor in the Department of Clinical Laboratories at the School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, is Head of the Microbiology Laboratory of the UC-CHRISTUS Health Network and is recognized as an expert on the subject of bacterial resistance in Chile. Patricia is the Alternate Director of a FONDEF project, co-investigator in a Fondecyt project and has published more than 130 articles in indexed journals. In addition, she was President of the Chilean Society of Infectology between 2008 and 2010.

Infectologist Hospital Clínico UC and Clínica UC

Dr. Labarca studied medicine at the University of Chile and specialized in internal medicine at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.  Between 1996 and 1999 he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Clinical and Public Health Microbiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA. His line of work includes healthcare-associated infections and the epidemiology of bacterial resistance. Dr. Labarca has led the Bacterial Resistance Collaborative Group, which has been in operation for more than 10 years under the auspices of the Chilean Society of Infectious Diseases (SOCHINF) and brings together nearly 50 health centers throughout the country. Jaime is a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where he also serves as Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases.

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Associate Professor and Director of the Bioethics and Law Observatory of the Institute for Science and Innovation in Medicine (ICIM) of the Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad de Desarrollo

Juan Alberto studied law at the University of Chile and studied philosophy at the Università degli Studi Roma Tre in Rome, Italy. Later, he completed a Master’s degree in Bioethics at the Institut Borja de Bioética, Universitat Ramon Llull in Barcelona and a PhD in Philosophy at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, both in Spain.

During his stay in Spain, Dr. Lecaros focused his research on ecological ethics and law applied to the field of bioethics. He is currently an Associate Professor and Director of the Observatory of Bioethics and Law at the Institute of Science and Innovation in Medicine (ICIM) of the Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad de Desarrollo, and is a collaborating professor at the Borja Institute of Bioethics. In addition, Juan Alberto won the Manuel Velasco Suárez Bioethics Excellence Award 2012, PAHEF/PAHO and is the founder of the International Network of Biolaw.

He has published several articles specialized in bioethics and biolaw, and reports with regulatory proposals in biomedicine for Chile. He is co-editor of the book “Bioethics: the pluralism of the substantiation”(Editorial Comillas, 2016), and of two recently published books: “Animal Ethics: empirical, theoretical substantiations and practical dimension” (Editorial Comillas, 2018) and Biolaw and Policy in the 21st Century (Springer, 2018).

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Scientific Consultant

Juan studied Molecular Biotechnology Engineering at the University of Chile, and later obtained a PhD from the University of California, San Diego, USA. In 2014, he joined the Faculty of Medicine Clínica Alemana Universidad de Desarrollo and the Universidad Mayor as an Assistant Professor and was awarded with a Fondecyt Initiation project. In 2017, Juan leaves the academy to accept the challenge of leading the bioinformatics area in a biotechnology company, where he was in charge of a diverse group of bioinformaticians and data scientists. Since 2019 he has been working as a consultant in genomics and bioinformatics and is co-researcher of three Fondecyt Regulares projects. Juan has 34 publications in various journals and has participated in the development of 5 patents to date.

Assistant Professor Andrés Bello University. Headquarters Santiago

Dr. Adell obtained her degree in Veterinary Medicine at the Universidad Mayor and then moved to the United States where she completed a Masters of Preventive Veterinary Medicine (MPVM) and a PhD in Comparative Pathology, both at the University of California, Davis, CA.

Aiko has developed research in epidemiology, risk analysis, meta-analysis, microbial source tracking (MST) and laboratory techniques for the detection of pathogens in environmental water samples, feces and bivalve molluscs. His area of interest is zoonotic pathogens that are transmitted through water.

Since 2016, he has been leading a Fondecyt Initiation project in which she is evaluating the impact of land use on the source of fecal contamination of two rivers in central Chile and the impact this contamination has on human and animal health.

Aiko is also collaborating, together with Dr. Moreno, in a FONDEF Idea 2018 project entitled “FageCapsuleS, micro-encapsulated Salmonella bacteriophages with small and large intestine release technology” in which they explore innovative solutions for the control of pathogens in the production chain.

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Assistant Professor University of Concepción

Andrés is a Biochemist from the Universidad de Concepción and Master in Microbiology from the same university. Between 2010 and 2014, he studied a PhD in Biomedical Sciences (Medical Microbiology) at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, where he focused on the study of mobile genetic elements associated with carbapenemic resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii.

After obtaining his degree, Dr. Opazo returned to Chile to work as the Responsible Researcher of the FONDECYT post-doctoral project entitled “Evolution and molecular characterization of Acinetobacter spp multi-resistance during the last 20 years in Chile”, completed in 2017.

Later on, Andrés was awarded a project of insertion in the PAI-CONICYT academy, aimed at consolidating his incorporation as an academic at the Universidad de Concepción.

In addition, Andrés has served for the past 2 years as a youth ambassador for the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Dr. Opazo has published several works focused on the resistance mechanisms in Gram-negative bacilli.

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Born in Seville, Spain, he obtained a degree in Biology from the University of Seville. During his student years he collaborated as a research assistant in the Genetics Department, where he began his training as a scientific researcher in the field of phage therapy against enteric salmonella. In 2012, he obtained the “Training of Research Personnel” grant, which allowed him to develop his doctoral thesis in the “Ecology and Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance” laboratory, one of the most important in Europe in the field of antimicrobial resistance in P. aeruginosa, among other pathogens. During this period (2012-2018), he spent 4 months at the “Centre for Biomolecular Sciences” of the University of Nottingham (United Kingdom), which is of European relevance in the field of bacterial communication mediated by Quorum Sensing and the virulence of P. aeruginosa. In 2017 he obtained the academic degree of Doctor in Molecular Biosciences at the U. Autónoma de Madrid, with the highest qualification, after defending the doctoral thesis entitled “Effect of the over-expression of the multiple drug pumping systems, MexAB-OprM and MexCD-OprJ, on the quorum sensing signalling system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa”. Currently he is part of MICROB-R, working as a postdoctoral researcher in the Antibiotic Resistance Group led by Prof. Dr. Jorge Olivares at the Institute of Biology of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.

Veronica is a Chemist and Pharmacist from the University of Chile, and has worked in the pharmaceutical industry in various management roles. In the last 4 years she has been dedicated to the administration of public sector projects in the field of health.

Sergio is a Journalist from Universidad Diego Portales, and has a Master’s degree in Strategic Communication from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He has worked for more than 15 years in the field of science and technology outreach and education. In addition, he is a professor of Journalism at the Universidad de Santiago de Chile, where he teaches courses in the field of strategic communication.