Rogelio Hernández-López Joins the Stanford Bioengineering Department

Rogelio Hernández-López is currently a postdoctoral fellow with the Lim Lab at USCF. He will be joining the Bioengineering Department as an Assistant Professor in March 2022. We asked Rogelio to share a few stories about himself and his interests.

What initially got you interested in Bioengineering?

As an undergraduate, I majored in Chemistry but found the intersection between chemistry, biology and physics an interesting area to pursue for my graduate degree. During my PhD, I studied the mechanisms of the microtubule-based motors dynein and kinesin. While I got fascinated by the elegant solutions that biology has evolved to achieve a variety of cellular functions, I became interested in learning how to re-design and engineer new biological functions. For my postdoctoral training, I decided to enter the growing field of T cell engineering. Over the past years, I have been able to use my training in physical chemistry and biophysics to build novel cellular therapies against cancer.

What excites you about working at Stanford?

I am particularly excited about the multidisciplinary and collaborative nature of my position at Stanford. I will be an assistant professor in the Departments of Bioengineering and Genetics, and my lab will be in the Clark Center (which houses Bio-X). Not only will I be able to pursue basic biological questions but can also dive into engineering novel functions or creating new technologies surrounded by an incredible environment. I am looking forward to interacting with colleagues and students from multiple departments and fields at Stanford, starting collaborations and continuing to learn about a variety of topics. 

What will your research at Stanford focus on?

My lab will use ideas from quantitative, synthetic and systems biology to address mechanistic questions in cell biology and engineering cellular systems with novel behaviors. Synthetic biology, in particular cell engineering, has become an exciting field of research that aims to leverage the power of biological systems to carry out complex functions with important applications in human health, energy and the environment. For example, T cells can now be redirected to kill cancer cells via synthetic receptors and have shown remarkable success against hematologic cancers. Nonetheless, many challenges still remain unsolved to apply this approach to a broader range of cancers. My research program aims to understand and engineer complex cellular behaviors such as recognition and communication. Initially, I will address these questions in the context of therapeutic T cells targeted to solid tumors, but in the future, I want to investigate and engineer other cellular systems including microbial communities and study their impact on health and disease.

What do you want the Stanford/BioE community to know about you?

In addition to my research interests, I am also deeply passionate about science education, STEM outreach and increasing education opportunities for students of all backgrounds. In 2014, I co-founded Clubes de Ciencia Mexico, a STEM outreach program for high school and college students. Every year, we invite grad students and postdocs in the US and Iberoamerica to design and deliver hands-on STEM workshops in an international environment. In 2017, I co-founded Science Clubs International (SCI), a US-based organization that brings together teams implementing the Clubes de Ciencia program that currently operates in 8 countries. Over the past 7 years we have served over 15,000 students, and I am really excited to continue expanding these efforts. I want to invite the Stanford/BioE community to learn more about this program and participate in it.

What are some of your favorite past times/hobbies?

When not in the lab, you can find me swimming or salsa dancing. I started swimming a long time ago; I was in a competitive swimming team as a teenager. I picked up the salsa dancing hobby when I moved to the US over 10 years ago. I also enjoy attending live music events, in particular latin jazz, and trying or cooking food from around the world.