Rafael Peña Miller

Biography

After obtaining a degree in Mathematics from UNAM, Rafael Peña-Miller was awarded a scholarship to pursue a PhD in Mathematics at Imperial College London. The principle objective of his postgraduate research was to work collaboratively with experimental biologists on mathematical problems associated with the use of antibiotics and to evaluate the consequences different prescription strategies have in the evolution of drug resistance. The single most important scientific contribution was the application of results from the theory of optimization and control to the rational design of antibiotic deployment protocols that minimize conditions promoting the evolution of resistant pathogens, leading to the publication of a series of papers addressing the drug resistance problem from a multiscale perspective: from the use of experimental microbial systems to inform mathematical models up to the epidemiological level. One of this papers was chosen as the 2011-2012 winner of the Lee Segel Prize, a biennial award given by the Society of Mathematical Biology in recognition of the best paper published in their journal during this period. Rafael was appointed postdoctoral positions at Biosciences at the University of Exeter and in Zoology, University of Oxford, participating in several interdisciplinary projects somewhere between mathematical and computational modelling and experimental microbial evolution. Recently, Rafael was awarded a Newton Advanced Fellowship by The Royal Society.

Research Interest

 Genetics