César Ramírez-Sarmiento

Scientist

I am an Associate Professor at the Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering (IIBM) from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and an Adjunct Researcher at the Millenium Institute for Integrative Biology (iBio). Utilizing non-AI and AI approaches for protein engineering and design, I lead a laboratory that aims to unveil the folding-function-evolution relationships of many proteins of biomedical and biotechnological interests. We are mostly known for working on the discovery, characterization and engineering of bacterial enzymes that hydrolyze PET, a widely used plastic that accumulates as waste in landfills and natural environments at similar rates to its production. I am also the organizer of the Latin American Workshop on AI for Protein Design, which aims to train researchers from Latin America focused on protein engineering and design to utilize AI in their workflows. Our first meeting was held in 2023 and the next one will be held 2025 in the chilean Patagonia.

All things related to weightlifting and Crossfit, new metal bands and networks of protein scientists

We are organizing the next Latin American workshop on AI for Protein Design in Chile on November 3, 2025, in the chilean Patagonia. Hopefully this can turn into a yearly event for the benefit of South American protein scientists.

While visiting the plastic producing plant in Coca Cola with my dad when I was just a kid, I asked him what happened with the bottles after they were used, for which he answered "I don't know". Back in my house, my mom told me that the snails were eating through the plastic bags that she was using for growing her plants. These two elements became extremely significant while pursuing my PhD in Sciences, when I became aware of the first identification of specific types of proteins that perform chemical reactions, called enzymes, that were found to chew on plastics such as PET, the plastic present in bottles. Could this be a way of solving the problem of plastic pollution and provide an environmentally friendly and truly circular process of plastic recycling? Once I finished my PhD and obtained my position as a faculty member at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, I decided to find more of these plastic-degrading enzymes, and hopefully improve their activities using protein engineering and design methods. In the last 5 years, these methods have been augmented by the addition of AI, and our lab is now incorporating them into our workflows for making better enzymes that can chew on plastic faster. Being aware that the use of AI is not commonplace in South America, I also lead educational efforts to distribute the proper utilization of AI methods for protein engineering and design across all protein scientists in our region.

Supporting bands on stage, as I was a roadie while I was obtaining my undergraduate and PhD degrees