https://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/sebastian-rios/index.htmlAbout me I am a second-year pharmacy student at the Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno (UAGRM). Since entering university, I have participated in several academic and innovation-oriented activities, including VECELAB at CAINCO Santa Cruz. z.Hugoenhttps://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/sebastian-rios/week-01-hw-project-ideas/index.htmlMon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/sebastian-rios/week-01-hw-project-ideas/index.html(1) What you would like to biomanufacture and why? I would like to develop a genetically modified microbial chassis from an extremophilic bacterium native to the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. The goal is to make this bacterium easier to grow, study, and genetically modify in a laboratory, while keeping the biological characteristics that make it adapted to extreme environments. In this way, the bacterium could become a useful platform for future biotechnology research, similar in concept to how E. coli is widely used in laboratories. I am interested in this because studying extremophiles directly in the Salar de Uyuni can be expensive and difficult, and field research gives us limited control over experimental conditions. A more accessible laboratory strain would allow researchers to study these microorganisms in a controlled and reproducible way, and to investigate their physiology, stress responses, and other possible biotechnological properties. The main output would therefore not be one specific product, but a research platform that can support future discoveries. By developing a more accessible extremophilic chassis, we could create new opportunities to study microorganisms from the Salar de Uyuni and explore biotechnology applications that we may not know yet.https://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/sebastian-rios/final-project/index.htmlMon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/sebastian-rios/final-project/index.html