More about myself

Hi, my name is Manuel A. Ortega, a fifth year student of Industrial Biotechnology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. For the past three years I have been conducting research in the Microbial Biotechnology and Bioprospecting  laboratory under the guidance of Dr. Carlos Ríos Velázquez. The main purpose of this laboratory is to exploit the possible biotechnology applications of microorganism for further uses. As part of this research I have been actively involved in the construction of Low Molecular Weight Metagenomic Libraries from different types of Puerto Rican soils. The main objective of this experiment is to obtain a representation of the microbial ecology by cloning the DNA in the soil on a host in order to screen them for new novel biomolecules such as restriction enzymes, thermostable enzymes, pigments or antimicrobial agents.Our establish goal at the end of the semester is to construct over several hundreds of this libraries to begin screening them, which is the major core of this research. Working on this experiment has made possible for me to learn many biomolecular techniques and used of protocols such as: extraction of DNA from an environmental samples, uses of the spectophotomer for quantification of DNA, use of restriction enzymes, gene cleaning, and cloning techniques among others. Among my personal aspirations, I want to pursue a Ph.D. on a Biological Science related field, not sure in which area yet. What I know for sure is, after Ph.D. I will like to work on a research, based on the development and creation of cell based-therapies. Other than research, I like to play double bass. In benefits of those who don’t know what a double bass is, just imagine a gigantic violin and you have it. I’ve been playing for the the RUM Orchestra for over two years now. For any of those who will like to know more about my research project you can go to GeMs on my links, there you will find a complete description of the project and of our goals.

BioMinds Group

Microbial Biotechnology and Bioprospecting Laboratory

B-266