Luis holds his PhD in Microbiology from UC Berkeley. He received his Bachelors in Microbiology and Chemistry from University of Puerto Rico. He is currently a microbial genomics and structural biology research fellow at Monash University in Australia where he is working with a group pioneering the exporation of CRISPR-Cas and other innovative immune systems. His role involves the strategic integration of laboratory skills and ecosystem-scale genomics to explore the untapped potential of bacteria, archaea, and mobile genetic elements.
His PhD thesis focuses on reconstructing genomes from natural ecosystems to provide insights into previously unknown and little-known bacteria, archaea, and mobile genetic elements. Luis uses a combination of structural biology and ecosystem-scale genomics to interrogate the metabolic capacities of these microbes but also harness their novel proteins for biotechnological applications such as genome editing, novel antibiotics, and new drugs.