I have always been captivated by microbiology and genomics. Ever since I remember, I have had a curiosity to learn the minute details of how everything works, especially microbes, which encouraged me to narrow the focus of my studies and research towards microbiology. One of my my biggest dreams in life is to be a scientist, and to show the world that the microscopic world has a lot of gifts to give. On the way to fulfill my dream, I have worked as a research assistant at the research center "CIDEIM," located in my hometown of Cali, Colombia. There, I researched the enzyme degradation of β-lactam antibiotics in bacteria. The research included the development of diagnostic methods, determination of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, the characterization of novel antibiotics, and the epidemiology of infectious diseases in Latin America. I joined KAUST in 2018 as a Master's student in Professor Peiying Hong's Lab, where I continued my research of microorganisms. I worked to understand the dynamics of horizontal gene transfer in wastewater, the effect of metal-induced virulence traits in water treatment, and the persistence of bacteria in water distribution systems. Currently, I am a Ph.D. student in Bioengineering at, Kyle Lauersen's SSB group at KAUST. As part of my doctoral studies, I will be working using synthetic biology tools to enable sustainable biotechnological applications using microalgae as a model. I am interested in the improvement of genetic engineering technologies to create microbial factories.