Hello, my name is Julio, and I am a master’s student at CNPEM (Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials). I am a qualified chemistry technician with a degree in Biotechnology; my background includes working with plant organisms, screening genetic markers for diagnostics and pathogen identification, and a brief with mRNA vaccine development. Currently, I am working on yeast metabolic engineering. This focus brings me to Professor Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro’s RLA Lab, where I will be applying a synthetic pathway originally developed in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae to the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica.