𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗻 𝗮 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗺𝗼𝗲𝗯𝗮
Growing up in Colombia in a family of chemists, Gabriela “Gaby” always knew what science looked like up close. Gaby's introduction to peptides began in her undergraduate lab, where she started doing solid-phase peptide synthesis by hand. That early, tactile experience of building molecules from scratch set the tone for the kind of scientist she would become: someone who loves the process as much as the result. Then, when she had the opportunity to represent Colombia at Purdue University as a visiting scholar, she got her first taste of hands-on research in the United States, and decided to embark upon a PhD there.
Now a third-year PhD candidate at Purdue, she brings a pharmacy lens to everything she does, with a genuine interest in pharmacology, mechanism of action, protein interactions, and how peptides behave in the body over time. Her research targets the Balamuthia mandrillaris, a free-living amoeba that causes a lethal brain infection with a mortality rate of around 90% and no FDA-approved treatment. Her work has already led to the identification of a Balamuthia-inhibiting cyclic peptide with an IC50 of 5.0 µM. Now she is focused on optimizing its pharmacokinetic properties while preserving and improving its activity. She is also particularly interested in developing stapled peptide therapeutics to modulate protein–protein interactions associated with cardiovascular disorders.
Looking ahead, Gaby hopes to keep working with peptides — both as therapeutics and as chemical tools for broader discovery. What drives her is a deep curiosity and a passion for advancing science to address unmet medical challenges. She is motivated by the pursuit of new knowledge, the excitement of seeing new data, uncovering the next discovery, and finding out just how far peptides can be pushed.
