A standard household disinfectant claims it can kill 99.99% of bacteria. We study the remaining 0.01%.
Our research focuses on the genetic, regulatory, and metabolic mechanisms that allow bacterial populations and communities to survive, adapt, and sometimes thrive in hostile and rapidly changing environments.
We work at the interface of modeling and experiment. We use mathematical models and computer simulations to explore evolutionary dynamics, and we test these ideas using experimental evolution and quantitative microbiology.
We value diversity in science and in life. Our lab is a collaborative space where people with different backgrounds and perspectives work together on shared problems.
Specific projects can be grouped into three broad but connected areas. We study how spatio-temporally structured environments shape antibiotic-resistance fitness landscapes in microbial communities; the gene regulatory mechanisms that generate phenotypic heterogeneity in genetically identical cells; and the interactions between mobile genetic elements, their bacterial hosts, and the environment.
rpm@ccg.unam.mx
@penamiller.com
+52 (777) 313 4152
Centro de Ciencias Genómicas
Av. Universidad s/n.
Chamilpa, CP 62261.
Cuernavaca, Mexico.
PNAS (2026).
Ramiro-Martínez P, Quinto ID, Jaraba L, Lanza VF, Herencias C, González-Casanova A, Peña-Miller R*, Rodríguez-Beltrán J*
Nature Communications (2024).
Hernandez-Beltran JC, Rodríguez-Beltrán J, Aguilar-Luviano OB, Velez-Santiago J, Mondragón-Palomino O, MacLean RC, Fuentes-Hernández A, San Millán A, Peña-Miller R*
Molecular Biology and Evolution (2022).
S Cisneros-Mayoral, L Graña-Miraglia, D Pérez-Morales, R Peña-Miller*, A Fuentes-Hernandez*
Nature Communications (2021).
A Alonso-del Valle, R León-Sampedro, J Rodríguez-Beltrán, J DelaFuente, M Hernández-García, P Ruiz-Garbajosa, R Cantón, R Peña-Miller* & A San Millan*
PNAS (2020).
J Rodríguez-Beltrán, V Sørum, M Toll-Riera, C Vega, R Peña-Miller and A San Millan
Plasmid (2020).
JCR Hernandez-Beltran, J Rodriguez-Beltran, A San Millan, R Peña-Miller* & A Fuentes-Hernandez*
Nature Ecology and Evolution (2018).
J Rodriguez-Beltran, JCR Hernandez-Beltran, J DelaFuente, JA Escudero, A Fuentes-Hernandez, RC MacLean, R Peña-Miller & A San Millan
Behind the paper (Nature Ecology & Evolution Community):
What do pill-bugs and Escherichia coli have in common? »
Agustín B. Ávila wrote about this paper:
La diversidad es la mejor estrategia para sobrevivir »
Galileo allegedly said, "Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so". Following his advice, every once in a while, we turn our lab into a FabLab where we collectively design and build wet lab instrumentation using free and open-source software and open-source hardware.
We've built incubators, laminar hoods, chemostats, syringe pumps, image acquisition systems and hacked pipetting robots and 3D printers to extrude cells.
A 3D printable device for spatio-temporal quantification of fluorescently-tagged bacteria in agar plates.
A 3D-printed plate rotator that turns a standard flow cytometer into a time-resolved measurement device, allowing continuous tracking of fluorescence distributions in growing bacterial populations.
Microfluidic devices and open-hardware holders for long-term observation of single bacterial cells under controlled environments.
OpenTrons modifications for automated handling of bacterial cultures and reproducible experimental evolution protocols.
Inaugural event of the Mexican Network for Biology and Mathematics (RedMexBioMate), focused on fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and research at the intersection of biology and mathematics. The network aims to build an inclusive community that promotes scientific innovation and diversity.
2nd interdisciplinary meeting focusing on the application and development of probability models in biology.
This event gathered students from diverse backgrounds and institutions across Mexico and Latin America. The agenda featured courses, workshops, and talks focused on the integration of mathematical tools in the fields of Genomics, Synthetic Biology, and Systems Biology.
qBio18:Summer School in Quantitative Biology was held at the Genomic Sciences Center of the UNAM in Cuernavaca, Morelos, from July 23 to August 3, 2018.
An international conference assembling a cross-disciplinary panel of internationally leading speakers presenting current research that uses a wide range of quantitative methodological approaches to understand the evolutionary processes by which living systems acquire resistance to chemotherapy.
More info
We welcome students and postdoctoral applicants with a biomedical or a quantitative background, interested in developing interdisciplinary research projects somewhere in the interface between experimental microbiology, mathematical modelling and computational biology.
We are committed to creating a lab environment that is diverse, inclusive, and welcoming to all. We strongly believe that the amalgamation of diverse perspectives contributes to scientific excellence and innovation. We encourage individuals from all ethnic backgrounds, genders, ages, abilities, and orientations to apply.
If you are interested in joining our lab as a postdoctoral fellow, graduate student, or undergraduate researcher, please send an email to rpm (at) ccg.unam.mx with a CV and a brief description of your research interests.
Cuernavaca Morelos
t: +52 (777) 313 4152
@: rpm@ccg.unam.mx
