César de la Fuente, assistant professor in the Perelman School of Medicine and in Department of Bioengineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, has been awarded a Presidential Professorship by University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann. Presidential Professorships, which have terms lasting five years, are awarded to outstanding scholars who, according to the award announcement, “demonstrably contribute excellence and diversity to Penn’s inclusive community.”
De la Fuente is a synthetic biologist who incorporates a computational approach into his work, attempting to engineer biological systems that can transform medical tools and therapies. His lab studies naturally occurring proteins and uses their discoveries to design artificial antibiotics and living medicines.
De la Fuente has also been named one of MIT Technology Review’s “35 Innovators Under 35” and one of GEN’s “Top 10 Under 40” for his pioneering work on engineered medicines.
Read the Presidential Professorship award announcement at Penn Medicine, and learn more about de la Fuente’s research on his lab website.
Originally published on the Penn Engineering Medium blog.