About

A multidisciplinary chemist & chemical biologist

Sebastian Cuesta Hoyos is a multidisciplinary chemist and chemical biologist with experience spanning computational chemistry, pharmaceutical R&D, enzyme discovery, biocatalysis, drug discovery and experimental biochemistry. His work integrates computational and experimental approaches to understand molecular mechanisms and accelerate the discovery of therapeutic molecules.

Current role

Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Manchester

Education

  • PhD in Chemical Biology

    University of Manchester

  • MSc in Drug Discovery and Translational Biology

    University of Edinburgh

  • BSc in Chemistry

    Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador

Professional background

  • Pharmaceutical R&D, scale-up, technology transfer, formulation and quality control
  • Computational chemistry and molecular modelling
  • Chemical biology and biocatalysis
  • Protein science and biochemical methods

Fellowship & awards

  • Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship — awarded, starting July 2027
  • Dean's Doctoral Scholarship Award, University of Manchester
  • SENESCYT Scholarship
  • Best Graduate in Chemistry

Scientific mentoring & capacity building

Sebastian mentors students and early-career researchers in Ecuador, supporting thesis development, research design, data analysis, scientific writing and publication-oriented research. This work aims to strengthen scientific capacity and help emerging researchers produce rigorous, internationally relevant science.

Research / Expertise

Areas of expertise

Enzyme discovery, enzyme engineering & biocatalysis

Enzyme discoveryBiocatalysisBiosynthesis of therapeuticsMutagenesisDirected evolutionSubstrate scope optimisationAmide bond ligasesBiosynthetic pathways

Computational chemistry & AI-guided drug discovery

Molecular dockingMolecular dynamicsQuantum chemistryQSARMachine learningProtein modellingDrug repurposingMolecular property predictionElectroPredictorPythonscikit-learnWEKA

Protein science, biochemistry & biotechnology

Protein expressionProtein purificationMembrane proteinsBiochemical assaysFPLCPCRCloningMutagenesisX-ray crystallographyMetagenomics

Analytical and pharmaceutical R&D

HPLCLC-MSGC-MSUV-VisNMRIRAnalytical method developmentFormulation developmentScale-upTechnology transferGxPICH and USP guidelines

Molecular mechanisms and chemical reactivity

Reaction mechanismsStructure-reactivity relationshipsTransition statesNucleophilic substitutionEnzyme mechanismsChemical selectivity