Biography

Dr. Mojica began his scientific career at Binghamton University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology and conducted independent undergraduate research on microbial biofilm dispersion with Dr. David G. Davies. Afterwards, Dr. Mojica moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and received his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, under the mentorship of Dr. Patrik Bavoil. His main accomplishment was the initial identification and characterization of a novel type-iii secreted effector from Chlamydia psittaci that targets the host cell nuclear envelope in infected cells. Continuing in Chlamydia research, Dr. Mojica did his first postdoc at Umeå University in northern Sweden to study the biological significance of the Chlamydia trachomatis fatty acid synthesis pathway and explore the therapeutic value of blocking this pathway with small molecule inhibitors. He joined the laboratory of Prof. Carolina Arias in September, 2017.