Sebastian Franco Ulloa

Committed problem solver

RESUME

Overview

PhD candidate in Biocomputational Sciences at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) with a background in physics and chemistry. My areas of interest include teaching, data science, machine learning, object-oriented programming, molecular dynamics-based methods, drug discovery, and nanomaterials. Good knowledge of the programming languages Python, SQL, C, and bash. Spanish native speaker. High proficiency in English and Italian. Intermediate communication skills in Norwegian.

• Italian Institute of Technology. Genoa, Italy.

Research Collaborator - PhD Fellow

​Nov 2017 - present

• Professor of "Physical Chemistry Laboratory" and "General Chemistry Laboratory"

• Graded over 50 assignments per week including lab reports, workshops, quizzes, and exams

• Encourage student engagement by employing teaching techniques such as open discussions and interactive presentations- Maintained regular office hours to help students with questions and provide educational support 

• The Italian Institute of Technology is a foundation that promotes excellence in basic and applied research thus fostering Italy's economic development. The institute is a leading organization in biotechnology, nanosciences, neurology, and robotics

• Hylleraas Centre for Quantum Molecular Sciences - University of Oslo. Oslo, Norway.

Guest Researcher

​Jun 2019 - Dec 2019

• Scientist at the Hylleraas Centre for Quantum Molecular Sciences directed by Prof. Trygve Helgaker

• Performed coarse-grained and hybrid particle-field molecular dynamics for the study of polymer aggregation

• Developed skills in Python for data processing and analysis

• Elaborated a systematic review on the topic of my research project

• The Hylleraas Centre aims to develop and apply computational methods to understand, interpret, and predict new chemistry, physics, and biology of molecules in complex and extreme environments

• University of the Andes. Bogotá, Colombia.

Part-Time Professor

​Jan 2017 - Jun 2017

• Professor of "Physical Chemistry Laboratory" and "General Chemistry Laboratory"

• Graded over 50 assignments per week including lab reports, workshops, quizzes, and exams

• Encourage student engagement by employing teaching techniques such as open discussions and interactive presentations

• The University of Los Andes is an autonomous, independent, and innovative institution that fosters pluralism, tolerance, and respect for ideas. It aims for academic excellence while providing rigorous critical and ethical character development

• University of the Andes. Bogotá, Colombia.

Teaching Assistant

​Jul 2013 - Dec 2016

• Bestowed 3-hour weekly lectures to 20+ students as a complement to the main sessions of various courses

• Grading of exams and workshops as requested by the supervising professor

• Courses imparted:

* Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemistry
* Computational Chemistry
* Physical Chemistry II
* Physical Chemistry I
* Physical Chemistry Fundamentals
* Analytical Chemistry Fundamentals
* Introduction to the Modern Understanding of Atoms and Molecules
* General Chemistry
* General Physics

• Italian Institute of Technology. Genoa, Italy.

Research Internship

​Jan 2016- Apr 2016

• Engaged in a drug discovery campaign for novel antimicrobial agents

• Performed molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations

• Reported weekly to a boss with multimedia presentations updating the results

• Developed skills in Python for the processing and analysis of data

• DataCamp

Certified online courses on data science and machine learning

​Aug 2019 - present

• Machine Learning Scientist career track certified online course (93 h)

• Data Scientist career track certified online course (100 h)

• Python Programmer career track certified online course (52 h)

• University of Bologna. Bologna, Italy.

PhD in Biotechnological, Biocomputational, Pharmaceutical, and Pharmacological Sciences

​Nov 2017 - present

• Earned a research scholarship for carrying out the PhD studies at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) under the supervision of Dr Marco De Vivo

• Thesis title: Multiscale Simulations to Investigate Nanoparticle Internalization and Transport Across the Cellular Membrane

• MIT Professional Education

Certified online courses on leadership and innovation

​May 2020 - June 2020

• Five-week online course (40 h)

• Three self-paced modules covering the five technologies that govern digital transformation in organizations, i.e., artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, the internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, and cybersecurity

• Coordinated collaborative activities with other participants around the world. In detail, three discussion forums, three reflection essays, and two exams

• The course included two seminars carried by leadership experts from the MIT

• Performed extracurricular research on how the topics of the course related to institutional organization

• University of the Andes. Bogotá, Colombia.

BSc. Physics

​Jan 2012 - Jul 2017

• Member of the Computational Astrophysics research group

• Member of the Quantum Optics seminar group

• Thesis title: Simulations of a Weakly Self-Interacting Fluid by Means of Lattice Boltzmann Methods

• Thesis supervisor: Dr Jaime Ernesto Forero 

• University of the Andes. Bogotá, Colombia.

BSc. Chemistry

​Aug 2011 - Dec 2016

• Member of the Computational Bio-Organic Chemistry research group

• Collaborated on a drug discovery campaign with the Drug Discovery and Development department from the Italian Institute of Technology

• Thesis title: Application of Molecular Mechanics for the Discovery of Novel Microbial IIA Topoisomerases Inhibitors

• Thesis supervisor: Dr Gian Pietro Miscione

• University of Leiden. Leiden, The Netherlands.

Summer school on "Modern Physics at all Scales"

​Jun 2016 - Jul 2016

• Summer program aimed at bachelor students to learn about multiple research branches and applied physics by leading experts

• Supervised by: Prof. Dirk Bouwmeester

• The program included scientific talks, hands-on lab tours, and cultural events

• Uniandinos Alumni Association. Quiero Mentoría ("I Want Mentorship Program").

Mentor.

Aug 2020 - Present

• Mentor of two undergraduate students

• Meet for 2-hours every month with each of the mentees to help them transition into a working environment or a postgraduate study program

• Offer guidance to the mentees throughout introspection exercises to determine their motivations and interests

• American Chemical Society. Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation.

Reviewer.

Dec 2019 - Present

• Peer reviewer of c.a. 2 manuscripts per month and comment on their potential for publication in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation

• Receive articles for review regarding computational chemistry methodologies, nanoparticles, and biotechnological sciences

• University of the Andes. Bogotá, Colombia.

Students representative of the Chemistry Department.

​Oct 2013 - Sep 2015

• Member of the board of directors as the representative to the University's Committee of Student Affairs

• Weekly assessment of escalated academic and disciplinary student cases

• Assisted any student with logistic and academic questions about the Universities regulations

• Engaged in collaborative activities to improve the communication channels between university directives and students

• SOSAndes - Students Offering Support. Bogotá, Colombia.

Teacher and fundraiser for poverty alleviation

​Aug 2012 - Jul 2013

• Imparted lectures on differential calculus, physics, and chemistry

• Money raised from the lectures imparted would go to the building of houses for homeless people in rural regions of Colombia

• Recruitment of students in need of academical help

• Full scholarship from "Becas Santander" to enroll in an online course from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The scholarship covered the enrollment fee of $2,300 of the "MIT - Leading Digital Transformation" certified course.

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• Winner of the research grant no. HP10CR7KHL from the Italian SuperComputing Resource Allocation-Class C (ISCRA-C). Receiver of 25,000 core hours from the SuperComputing Applications and Innovation (SCAI) center.

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• Speaker at the “Properties and Functionalities of Nanometer and Sub-Nanometer Sized Quantum Objects” Gordon’s research conference. 2019. Les Diablerets, Switzerland.

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• Poster presentation at the “New Perspectives of Nanostructured Devices and High-Resolution Characterization Techniques” Gordon’s research seminar. 2019. Les Diablerets, Switzerland.

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• Poster presentation at the “Nucleic acid immunity: from cellular mechanisms to new technologies” SIBBM seminar. 2019. Bologna, Italy.

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• Speaker at the “Challenges in modelling and simulations of nanoparticles in complex environments” CECAM workshop. 2019. Genoa, Italy.

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• Poster presentation at the “Translational and Health Informatics: Implications for Drug Discovery” EuroQSAR Symposium. 2018. Thessaloniki, Greece.

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• Poster presentation at the “Multiscale modelling in electrophysiology: from atoms to organs” CECAM workshop. 2018. Lugano, Switzerland.

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• Poster presentation at the “1st Protein Structure, Function, and Drug Discovery School.” 2017. Bogotá, Colombia.

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• Speaker at the 42nd Theoretical Chemists of Latin Expression Congress. 2016. Montevideo, Uruguay.

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• Speaker at the 6th National Congress of Theoretical and Computational Chemists. 2016. Bogotá, Colombia

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• Speaker at the 2nd Colombian Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 2016. Medellín, Colombia.