Rodrigo Ledesma Amaro

Rodrigo Ledesma Amaro is an Associate Professor and Academic Lead for Engineering Biology in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. He leads a research group focused on synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, with affiliations across multiple centers including the Centre for Synthetic Biology, Energy Futures Lab, Fungal Science Network, and the UKRI Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Biology Consortium.

Education:

• PhD in Metabolic Engineering (University of Salamanca, Spain)
• MSc in Microbial Biotechnology (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid)
• Undergraduate degrees in Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering (University of Salamanca)

Research Interests: His lab develops synthetic biology tools for precise microbial cell manipulation, metabolic pathway optimization for biotechnology applications, and microbial community engineering. Key areas include production of high-value chemicals, biomaterials (e.g., bacterial cellulose), and understanding microbiome-disease interactions (e.g., skin microbiome, wound healing). They work with organisms like yeast (S. cerevisiae, Y. lipolytica), A. gossypii, E. coli, and microbial consortia.

Affiliations & Teaching: Supervises the CDT in Chemical Biology program and has taught synthetic biology at SUP Biotech. Active in editorial roles and international collaborations.